Windies vs India ODI series: India Predicted XI

The T20I series is done and dusted. The Virat Kohli-led India absolutely thrashed the West Indies as they won the series 3-0. There were a few new names in the T20 side and there are a few more changes to the 50-over side as well. The two wrist-spinners will be back in the squad as the likes of Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar and Rahul Chahar head back. Moreover, Mohammed Shami is also returning to the side.

India will be playing an ODI series after two years in the Caribbean. The last time they played here was after the loss in the 2017 Champions Trophy final. They won that five-match ODI series 3-1 and mostly dominated the series. Thus, with the ODI series all set to kick-off, India will be looking to extend their dominance in the 50-over format as well on this tour.

Here’s India’s predicted XI for the ODI series:

Rohit Sharma

India’s vice-captain has been in fine form in the recent past. Rohit Sharma was the leading run-getter in the 2019 World Cup. He amassed 648 runs at an average of 81.00. The Mumbai right-hander struck five centuries as well which is the most by any batsman in the history of the tournament.

Rohit continued that form in the T20I series as well. He looked in fine touch and in fact, was one of the very few batsmen who looked at ease on a sluggish pitch in Florida. He top-scored for India in both games he played and was striking the ball beautifully.

Moreover, Rohit will be playing an ODI in the Caribbean after six years. He last toured there in 2013 for the tri-series and was rested in 2017. Also, West Indies is one of the few countries where Rohit hasn’t scored a ton. Thus, he will be eyeing to set the record straight.

Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan played just two games in the World Cup. He injured his thumb in the game against Australia. He did score a match-winning ton but he was ruled out of the entire tournament. He was hitting the ball well and India missed him during the World Cup.

However, Dhawan hasn’t had the best of returns to competitive cricket after that injury. The Delhi left-hander scored just 27 runs in three innings and 23 of those came in one innings only. He has struggled against Oshane Thomas in the past and the tall Windies pacer accounted for him once in the T20I series.

Having said that, the 50-over cricket is Dhawan’s preferred format and he will be hoping to strike some form. The last time he was in the Caribbean, he struck a couple of fifties in the five-match series.

Virat Kohli (C)

There were rumours that Virat Kohli might miss the limited-overs leg of this tour. However, the Indian captain has led from the front. He will once again be India’s rock at No. 3 in this series as they look to heal from the heart-breaking World Cup semi-final defeat.

Kohli has been in good form but he has also been guilty of not converting starts. The Indian skipper scored five successive fifties in the World Cup and didn’t even convert one of them into a big score. That was pretty unlike Kohli who churns out hundreds for fun.

Moreover, he was striking the ball well in the T20Is as well. He threw away a couple of good starts before scoring a half-century in the final T20I. Thus, Kohli will be looking to continue on the good form and score consistently.

Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has been in and around the Indian white-ball team for a while now. He made his international debut in late 2017 and played a handful of games. He batted at No. 3 in his debut series against Sri Lanka as Virat Kohli was rested.

However, he has also batted at 5 and 6 but a couple of failures led to his axing. Despite scoring consistently in domestic cricket for Mumbai and for India ‘A’, Iyer never got a consistent run. He did well in the IPL too and led Delhi Capitals really well. He’s had a couple of good IPLs with the bat and was excellent with his captaincy this year.

Thus, it was surprising not to see him feature in any of the three T20Is prior to this ODI series. However, Iyer is likely to start ahead of both KL Rahul and Manish Pandey and bat at the coveted No. 4 spot as the hunt continues. Moreover, he has never batted at that spot. Hence, India might give him a go before the other two.

Rishabh Pant (WK)

Rishabh Pant has a huge opportunity in this series. The 21-year-old Delhi wicketkeeper hasn’t had a consistent run in white-ball cricket. However, in the absence of MS Dhoni, he will get a longer rope.

Pant had a very good IPL season but was overlooked in India’s World Cup squad initially. However, an injury to Shikhar Dhawan meant he got his chance and flew to England. He played four games towards the back end of the tournament and got some good, solid starts in three of those. However, he was guilty of throwing his wicket away, just like he did in the first two T20Is in Florida.

Pant failed in two successive games before he scored a match-winning half-century. He guided India home in a tricky run-chase. Thus, he will be hoping to carry that confidence forward and cement his spot in the white-ball team.

Kedar Jadhav

Kedar Jadhav played in the first half of the World Cup before he was dropped. The 34-year-old has been a key part of the Indian ODI squad over the last two-three years. However, his form has been dipping over the last few months.

Jadhav didn’t have a great IPL season and scratched hard for runs. He was also injured towards the end of the T20 league. And since his return from his latest injury, he hasn’t looked at his best. He did score a half-century in the World Cup (against Afghanistan) but struggled throughout the tournament.

Thus, Jadhav will be looking to make a comeback and get back amongst the runs in this series. Moreover, with none of the top five being able to bowl, he will be India’s sixth bowler.

Ravindra Jadeja

The Saurashtra all-rounder’s USP has suddenly shot up after the World Cup semi-final. Ravindra Jadeja has hit back at his critics brilliantly. There were question marks over his ability with the bat and also his tendency to get predictable with the ball.

However, Jadeja was brilliant in the World Cup. He played just two games but almost proved to be India’s game-changer in the semi-final. He struck a fabulous 77 and almost took India home. The left-handed all-rounder also chipped in with a couple of wickets and was India’s most economical bowler.

Thus, in the absence of Hardik Pandya, Jadeja will bat at No. 7 and is India’s premier all-rounder. He played a couple of T20Is and looked good in those games as well. Hence, Jadeja will form a key component in this ODI series.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been bowling really well in the recent past. He started the World Cup with a couple of good performances before he was injured in the game against Pakistan. He returned to the XI and found his rhythm pretty quickly.

The Meerut-born fast bowler was pretty good in the T20I series as well. He might have picked up just three wickets but he had an excellent economy of 5.00. Moreover, he was moving the ball both ways upfront. He troubled the Windies top-order with some lateral movement with the new ball.

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar will lead this young pace attack. He will look to guide the youngsters like Khaleel Ahmed and Navdeep Saini through the course of the series.

Mohammed Shami

After missing the T20I series, Mohammed Shami will return to the side and will most likely walk back into the XI. The Bengal pacer has been in fine form this year. His transformation in white-ball cricket has been phenomenal. Moreover, he has this excellent knack of picking crucial wickets.

Shami was brilliant in the World Cup. He played just four games but had a massive impact. The right-arm pacer took 14 wickets at an average of 13.78 and a strike-rate of 15.00 in the tournament. Moreover, he also picked up a hat-trick, becoming just the second Indian to take a hat-trick in World Cup cricket.

Thus, with the Tests to follow, Shami will not only look to make an impact in this ODI series, but he will also look to prepare well for the longest format. Along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shami will be crucial in the pace department in this series.

Khaleel Ahmed

Before Mohammed Shami’s resurgence earlier this year, India’s hunt for the third pacer was never-ending. Khaleel Ahmed was tried in October last year and he impressed quite a bit. He was a touch expensive but he also picked up wickets at regular intervals.

He played a few games before Shami’s red-hot form saw the left-arm pacer face the axe. However, since then, Khaleel has been in excellent form. He did well in the IPL earlier this year. He continued that form and did well for the India ‘A’ side as well. Thus, he was rewarded with another chance.

There will be a toss-up between Khaleel and Navdeep Saini but the former might start the series. He has played international cricket before and has also played against the Windies at home last year. Thus, he will be looking to make a mark once again.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Yuzvendra Chahal will most likely return to the XI after missing the T20I series recently. The leg-spinner has been a key part of India’s white-ball plans for the last couple of years. Along with Kuldeep Yadav, he has wreaked havoc and has bamboozled quite a few batting line-ups in the world.

However, he had a mixed bag in the World Cup. He picked up 12 wickets and was India’s most expensive bowler of the tournament as he conceded runs at almost six runs per over. His form tapered off towards the end of the mega tournament as well.

India will have a choice to make between their two wrist-spinners, considering the fact that Ravindra Jadeja has to play in the absence of Hardik Pandya. Thus, it might well be Chahal as he has shown a lot more consistency and rhythm than Kuldeep in the recent past.