Finally, a wish of West Indies to face a big team like India will be fulfilled when they face the runner-up of ICC Champions Trophy in the first ODI of the five-match series on June 23. Keep in mind low TRPs, which could have happened during the series, the timing of the games have already been preponed, which can now generate interest of people and one can expect a competitive series where one team will have an eye to come over the loss in the final against Pakistan whereas, for the other team, it will be an opportunity to prevent itself from being pushed in the qualifiers in the pool of associate nations.
Overview –
India: It could have been an opportunity for senior Indian players to ask for a rest and allow the second string squad to tour one of the weakest sides in the current scenario but players stood up and a strong side has landed up in West Indies, with Rishabh Pant the only new name in ODI circuit. He too has done well in his short career till now which will continue to fear West Indies all day round.
It will be a series for India to experiment Rishabh in this series as Yuvraj Singh was not in best of his touch during the ICC Champions Trophy. He shone in only one game in the league stage against Pakistan and it was a time for him to do the job in the final but he failed to leave the team in limbo. It will a series for the captain to test someone like Rishabh Pant. The left-handed batsman has an age by his side and he can be a long-term asset for the team, should he be given a chance.
The other youngster in the side is mystery bowler Kuldeep Yadav. Just like Rishabh, Kuldeep too has an age by his side and he should be the one to be given an opportunity by dropping some seniors like Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, for their continued failures. This will be a series which will be of utmost importance as this series might see future stars coming to the fore right after its conclusion.
West Indies: This team suffered a big jitter when they lost their first ODI of the series against Afghanistan and in the second ODI as well, they had put in all efforts to see off their opposition. Rain though kept the series undecided but the series had a lot of lessons for the Windies team, which the host country will look to repair against India – a much stronger team than Afghanistan.
Their first aim will be to match up the level of India and then bamboozle them to rejuvenate the abysmal cricket standards there or else if they fail against India, then West Indies will have to play qualifiers to keep their hopes of qualifying for 2019 World Cup.
Talking points –
The biggest talking point in Indian team will be how they will perform in the first ODI sans Anil Kumble. The Head Coach of the side has just left his job in circumstances which have certainly raised many questions and it will be a thing to see how Virat Kohli reacts to this in the field and also in the pre-match press conference ahead of first ODI.
For West Indies, the biggest talk in their camp will be Roston Chase. The all-rounder has sweet memories against India as last year, he shone for his side in only in his second Test with a match-saving century. Chase hasn’t done well in two ODIs he has played till now and now, he will look to emulate his Test performance in this format of the game as well.
Predicted XI –
Jason Holder (capt), Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shai Hope (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammad, Ashley Nurse, Kieran Powell, Rovman Powell.