India vs West Indies ODIs Preview: Fight for places in India squad in World Cup year while WI look for improvement

The Indian cricket team are looking to build their ‘perfect ODI’ squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup which is to take pace in October-November this year. This series, coupled with Asia Cup 2023, is all the opportunity India have to lock their final 15 for the big-ticket event to be hosted by them. There is a plethora of talent to offer in India. It is also a sweet headache to have as the selectors have a lot on their plate to choose from. A cricket-crazy country of a billion people, who are all fans of this beautiful sport, are waiting to know who is going to be make it to the squad and who won’t.

One of the biggest questions India need to answer is: who is going to replace Rishabh Pant in the playing XI? There are plenty of options. There is Sanju Samson. There is Ishan Kishan. You want silkiness of Samson or fire of Kishan? Everybody loves what these two have done in the Indian Premier League for their franchises. Everyone knows what they are capable of. There is stiff competition now for the place of wicketkeeper/batter in the team with Pant most likely to miss out on the spot in the ODI World Cup.

Not to forget, there is Suryakumar Yadav situation as well. He is so good in the limited-overs cricket, that it is tough to ignore him. He has been a sensation for India in the T20Is but has not really shown the same spark in the 50-overs yet. So, are India going to give him a regular run up till the World Cup or are the likes of Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul going to feature in India’s middle order again.

There is a big chance that Surya, irrespective of his form in the series, will play all the matches. This is just to test him in that middle order. The decision of India’s middle order will eventually be dependent on the availability of likes of Iyer and Rahul. One must wait and watch if they can make a comeback in the Asia Cup or not. Meanwhile, keep an eye on how SKY goes.

India have a dynamic batting unit. That lineup is extraordinary. Virat always has a point to prove as it gives him that much-needed boost to win games. Rohit Sharma is a class act at the top. Whenever India manage to find their best combination, they are such a force to reckon with. The major challenge for India is not lack of talent but finding the right XI on that day.

The Men in Blue are surely the big favourites to win the One-Days series in the Caribbean. But their larger picture will be to find the right mix too ahead of the World Cup. They are in a good mindset. They have just won the Test series and would like to carry the momentum into the ODIs.

Even without some of their ODI regulars, who are down with injuries, India look hard to beat on paper. As I said earlier, there is no dearth of talent. But there needs to be a planned approach to ensure India are winning trophies with so much talent inside the dressing room.

West Indies, on the other hand, are not even going to India for the World Cup after failing to make the cut in the qualifiers. This is a heartbreaking moment in West Indies cricket as they are out of the World Cup for the first time ever. Much of Windies’ downfall in the ODIs is due to their T20 mindset, in my opinion. There isn’t much difference between Windies approach while batting in the shortest format and the ODIs. They have not been able to adopt a style of play in ODIs. One could see the lack of skills to construct an innings, which is a must-do in the ODIs, during the qualifiers. It is high time that Windies fixed these issues.

The selectors have done their job, dropped some big names and called up some fresh faces while also recalling some old names. Two of them are Oshane Thomas and Shimron Hetmyer. This is a big opportunity for Hetmyer after he was dropped from the T20 World Cup squad last year. We all know what difference he can make with his powerhitting. He is a strokemaker and it will be interesting to see how his and Windies batting approach is after the recent debacle in Zimbabwe.

I am also excited to watch Thomas, who is a fiery pace bowler. He can build up good speed and it will be interesting to see him operate on the field with the ball, trying to bounce out the India batters.

India, to me, are clear favourites to win the series. But let’s not forget that WI are at their home. Yes, their chips are down. But this is also a moment to rise and shine. Hopefully, we get to see a much better fight from the hosts than what we saw in white clothing.