IND vs WI, 1st ODI: Team India will well and truly begin their preparations for the ICC ODI World Cup 2027 when they face the West Indies in the first of the three ODIs on September 27, Sunday at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvanthapuram.
While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will arguably grab the spotlight, focus will also be on the home side’s combination, given a handful of players are missing due to the Asian Games’ commitments in Japan. But it does provide opportunity for the fringe players to put their hands up.
IND vs WI, 1st ODI: Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav to return to the playing XI?
The biggest talking point ahead of the first ODI was the injury to Shubman Gill, who copped a blow to his right elbow while batting in the nets. However, the Indian captain looks to have recovered and should open the batting with Rohit. With Shreyas Iyer in Japan leading the T20I side in the Asian Games, Ruturaj Gaikwad looks to be the favourite to bat at No.4. While Gaikwad usually opens the innings, the right-hander had notably scored a ton against South Africa in Raipur last December while slotting at No.4. KL Rahul and Nitish Kumar Reddy should slot in at No.5 and 6, respectively, while Ravindra Jadeja is in line for a return, with Axar Patel in Japan with the Asian Games’ squad. With India’s batting relatively thin and due to Jadeja’s inconsistency, one of Dhruv Jurel/Naman Dhir could also get a spot. If Dhir plays, it would be his first-ever international game, while Jurel is yet to feature in an ODI.
Kuldeep Yadav is also likely to play as the lone frontline spinner, while Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj look to be the new-ball bowlers, with Reddy offering another seam-bowling option.
India’s predicted XI for 1st ODI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Naman Dhir/Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
IND vs WI, 1st ODI: When did West Indies last beat India in an 50-over game in their backyard?
The Caribbeans haven’t beaten the Men in Blue in their backyard in an ODI since 2019. Their most recent ODI win over India in India came in Chennai in 2019 when centuries from Shimron Hetmyer (139) and Shai Hope (102*) helped the tourists chase down 288 successfully.
But the sub-continent nations still won the series 2-1 by emerging victorious in the next two games.