Rohit Sharma, now fit, will lead India in his first ODI as the team’s full-time limited overs skipper, when the Men in Blue face Kieron Pollard’s West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. However, focus still remains on Virat Kohli, his 71st international century and India’s middle order woes. 

India come off a disappointing tour of South Africa, where they lost the ODI series 3-0. Sharma was out with a hamstring injury and KL Rahul was the man in charge. Rahul will be unavailable against West Indies. Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad are out after testing positive for COVID-19. In their absence, Ishan Kishan is set to open alongside the skipper. 

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Kohli played some gritty and useful knocks during the South Africa tour. The 33-year-old, who has not scored a ton since 2019, would want to dominate the Windies attack and get no 71 on home soil. Mayank Agarwal was added to the squad last minute and could be asked to lead the middle-order. 

The series-opener is historic 1000th ODI for India, who would like to begin their preparations for the 2023 World Cup after failing to win the coveted trophy in 2015 and 2019, and the team will indeed look at a paradigm shift in strategy.

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With Shreyas Iyer not available for the series, there is a chance for aggressive Suryakumar Yadav and equally formidable Deepak Hooda, who has had a decent outing in the last Vijay Hazare Trophy, to impress the national selectors.

Kuldeep Yadav, once hailed as India’s best spinner on overseas pitches, is likely to make a comeback in national colours slong with his seasoned partner Yuzvendra Chahal. 

The 27-year-old Kuldeep played his last ODI against Sri Lanka in July 2021, and recently recovered after undergoing a surgery.

Meanwhile, West Indies would come into the context after their confidence boosting T20 series win over England, although the format is entirely different.

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Teams (From): India: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (Captain), Fabian Allen, Nkrumah Bonner, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Nicolas Pooran, Kemar Roach, Romario Shepard, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr.

Match starts at 1.30 PM.