West Indies vs India ODI Series Preview

After convincingly beating England in England, India travel to the Caribbean for another three-match ODI series against the West Indies starting on the 22nd of July in Trinidad. With India’s multi-format stars Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah rested and KL Rahul currently recovering from injury, this series presents another opportunity for the Men in Blue to test out their bench strength.

India’s second-string squad have had some success recently in their T20I encounters against South Africa and Ireland, and the likes of Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, and Shreyas Iyer will gain another chance to impress the selectors against the West Indies. Kishan is likely to open the innings for the Men in Blue alongside the skipper Shikhar Dhawan, while India’s new-look middle order for this series could include Shreyas Iyer, the returning Sanju Samson as well as the two centurions in India’s recent tour of the UK, Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda.

In the bowling department, the absence of Shami and Bumrah gives more opportunities to Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj to impress, while Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh could be in line for their ODI debuts after their admirable showing in the white ball tour of England.

Although India are coming off a high following their momentous victory over England in both white-ball formats, their opposition, the West Indies, are at the opposite end of the spectrum. The hosts have lost four of their last five bilateral ODI series – with their only victory coming against the Netherlands – and are in desperate need of some soul-searching after suffering a clean sweep in their recent ODI encounter against Bangladesh at home. The Men in Maroon were bowled out for under 180 in each of the three ODIs against Bangladesh, and the West Indies will need their experienced batters Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran to step up to the plate against a formidable Indian outfit.

Players to watch out for

Jason Holder

Jason Holder returns to the West Indies squad for the India series after being rested for the 3-0 defeat against Bangladesh in Guyana. Holder was the West Indies’ top scorer in their ODI series in India earlier this year, and the all-rounder brings some much-needed experience and quality with bat and ball to the hosts’ playing XI.

Deepak Hooda

Deepak Hooda made his ODI debut for India against the West Indies earlier this year, and the all-rounder has gone from strength to strength in 2022. After scoring 451 runs in IPL 2022 for the Lucknow Super Giants, Hooda impressed heavily for India in recent months, scoring a brilliant 104 of 57 deliveries against Ireland from number three.

Probable XI’s

West Indies: Shai Hope, Brandon King, Sharmarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales

India: Shikhar Dhawan, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishnaa