India vs West Indies 1st T20I: IPL stars collide as India stick to T20 plan

With the Test and ODI series in the bag, India will look to end the West Indies tour on a high with the T20I silverware as well, but this is the format where the visitors probably would be tested to the maximum.

Yes, before failing to qualify for the ODI World Cup earlier this year, West Indies had failed to reach the main event of the 2022 T20 World Cup but the shortest-format stars who have returned to the squad for the upcoming assignment, who were missing during the ODI matches, make the hosts a daunting opponent.

Stars return to West Indies squad

These players and the rest of the Windies squad also have another added motivation going into the T20Is against India — the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) starts on 17 August, four days after the five-match T20I series ends. The squad players would be looking to make a mark before the start of CPL and the superstars would want to be in the best of the rhythm.

Another reason why the T20Is matter more is the 2024 T20 World Cup which will be played in the Caribbean and the USA. Both for West Indies and India, every T20I is a chance to sort out the team combinations.

Returning to the West Indies squad is explosive batter Nicholas Pooran who recently helped MI New York win the Major League Cricket (MLC) trophy with a century in the final. Jason Holder, Odean Smith and Akeal Hosein are also back in the squad.