Skipper Rohit Sharma said India have to prepare themselves with “one eye on” the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia as he opted to bowl in the series opener against the West Indies at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Wednesday. 

The focus will be the performance of the big money buys at the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, with the likes of Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Chahar being selected in India’s playing XI after bagging lucrative deals over the weekend. 

Kishan became the Mumbai Indians’ most expensive buy of all time at Rs Rs 15.25 crore, while the Chennai Super Kings made Chahar their all-time highest-earner with a winning bid of Rs 14 crore. 

Harshal Patel, who returned to the Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 10 crore after finishing with a joint-record 32 wickets in IPL 2021, was also included in the eleven. 21-year-old leggie Ravi Bishnoi will make his debut tonight. 

Meanwhile, Sharma said getting a target on the board gives them an idea of how to approach the batting in the second innings. 

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“We have to prepare ourselves with one eye on Australia. We have to keep ticking the boxes and that’s been the message to the guys. We have played really well as a team but those little moments in the game is what we have to try and seize. Gives us a perfect opportunity to play a quality side like West Indies,” he said. 

Returning West Indies captain Kieron Pollard said his team are looking forward after the events of the weekend’s auction were “done and dusted”. 

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“We had a conversation about it, happy for the guys who are selected but business on hand now is to represent the West Indies. This is where it counts in international cricket and lot of these guys are looking for opportunities.”

Pollard confirmed only one change from the side that clinched a 3-2 series win against England with a win in the fifth T20I, with Jason Holder missing out with an injury during practise yesterday. 

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Playing XIs:

India: Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal

West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran(w), Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard(c), Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Odean Smith, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell