India vs West Indies: Kuldeep, Kishan star as Men in Blue beat Windies by five wickets in first ODI

India vs West Indies 1^st ODI preview: With sights set on the ODI World Cup later this year, India take on West Indies in a three-match ODI series that starts in Barbados on Thursday.

While India will be gearing up for a home World Cup in October this year, West Indies will be aiming to move on from their World Cup qualifiers heartbreak in Zimbabwe. The Windies will not be taking part in the 50-over World Cup for the first-ever time, after failing to qualify.

There will be a lot at stake when the Men in Blue take on the Windies. This series provides a perfect opportunity for Suryakumar Yadav to rediscover his lost form in ODIs. SKY has proved himself in T20Is for India, but the same cannot be said when it comes to his batting in ODIs.

In fact, in the last 12 months, SKY has managed just 101 runs from 11 ODIs, at an average of 11.22. The last time Suryakumar played ODIs, he endured consecutive ducks in the three-match ODI series against Australia in March. With Shreyas Iyer continuing to miss competitive cricket due to injury, it will be pivotal that Suryakumar raise his stakes in order to seal his middle-order spot.

There is also a toss-up between who among Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson will be India’s second wicketkeeper. With Rishabh Pant likely to remain absent, the team management have decided to invest in youngsters to fill-up the wicketkeepers’ spot.

Samson, who has been in and out of the team for quite a while now, will look to make every opportunity count.

Pacer Mohammed Siraj was expected to lead India’s bowling attack against West Indies, but on Thursday morning, it was announced that Siraj had been rested for the same.

Mohammed Shami had been already rested for the series, and Siraj was primed to be the most experienced pacer in the India ODI squad against West Indies. With 50 wickets in 35 matches,  Shardul Thakur now becomes India’s most prolific seamer in the current lineup.

For West Indies, Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran are unavailable for selection, but the duo of Shimron Hetmyer and Oshane Thomas make a comeback to the ODI squad. Both Hetmyer and Thomas played their last ODIs in 2021.

Jaydon Seales and Yannic Cariah also make their comebacks from injuries.

Squads:

West Indies: Shai Hope (captain), Rovman Powell (vice-captain), Alick Athanaze, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Dominic Drakes, Shimron Hetmyer, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Oshane Thomas.

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.