India, West Indies set for ODI showdown with contrasting objectives

For two teams, ten spots apart in the ODI rankings, the three-match series offers vastly different perspectives and purposes. India have the liberty to test their backups, chop and change a bit, and still give their ODI showstoppers much-needed game time leading up to the World Cup.

For West Indies, World Cup qualification is now out of bounds; they must take the Qualifier route five months from now. And the India tour with its own historical baggage: in the last two decades, West Indies haven’t once won a bilateral series against them. The gap stretches to 24 years, when considering their last series win in India.

Ranked tenth in the ICC rankings, West Indies also come into the series with the backdrop of sweeping corrective measures back home. Head coach Daren Sammy, though, exuded optimism, calling it a great opportunity for his side to “challenge and measures ourselves as to where we are in ODIs”. A day later, Shai Hope echoed the same, calling it a real test to face India in their backyard.

The attention can never escape Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, still the two biggest crowd-pullers around. Two days ahead of the first ODI, they had long batting sessions in side-by-side nets. The very next day, Kohli reminded fans of the finiteness of it all, saying he’s driven by the motivation of playing his last World Cup, a year away. As for Rohit, the speculative overdrive on his future from a few months ago now feels like a forgotten story.

For those invested in history, the very first ODI at this ground was played in 2018 between these two teams. The only other ODI here came five years later, when Kohli smashed 166 and Gill hit 116, handing India their biggest victory by runs (317).

When: India vs West Indies, 1st ODI, September 27, 2026

Where: Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram

What to expect: The weather has been largely clear for the past two days, albeit a brief but sharp spell of rain an hour before India’s practice on Friday (September 25). It remained hot and humid one day before, with the entire India team opting out of practice, except for Auqib Nabi’s batting stint. Morne Morkel called it “good batting conditions” with the new ball phase being a “bit challenging”, based on feedback from his batters. The last international game at this venue was a 271 vs 225 T20I between India and New Zealand in January.

Team news: India

India briefly had an injury scare, when Shubman Gill was forced to leave the nets after being hit by a Mohammed Siraj delivery. He sat for the remainder of the session with an icepack on his elbow, not returning to bat, but Sitanshu Kotak insisted the following day that he would be good to play. In case there’s a dramatic twist, India still have Yashasvi Jaiswal as a backup opener, always itching for game time.

Elsewhere, the big question lies at No.4, vacant without Shreyas Iyer, and the make-up of their pace attack. Gaikwad is likely to take up the two-down slot, or at least is the frontrunner, while India could go with a three-member pace attack and NKR, given the bounce seen in the practice sessions.

Probable XI: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

Team news: West Indies

West Indies only practiced one of the evenings, and contrary to India’s practice the day before, it wasn’t full-throttle intensity, easing their way into the tour. Shai Hope understandably forms their batting fulcrum, but they also come with a measured mix of experience and new faces. Jewel Andrew returns after nearly a year, and there’s intrigue around Amir Jangoo and Kamil Pooran, 29 & 30 respectively, but still very young in their careers. Vitel Lawes, meanwhile, adds more layers to a spin attack that already has the experienced arms of Gudakesh Motie and Roston Chase.

Probable XI: John Campbell, Justin Greaves/Jewel Andrew, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (c & wk), Amir Jangoo, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales

Did You Know:

– Since West Indies last beat India in a bilateral ODI series, back in 2006 at home, India have won each of the 13 series between the two since – a record in the format

– Virat Kohli holds the record for the most runs against West Indies in ODIs, and also has the most hundreds (9)

– Among visiting batters with 1000+ runs, Hope has the highest ODI average in Asia (68.17)

What they said:

“I always see them (youngsters) talking to senior players or me, or Gautam (Gambhir) and Sairaj (Bahutule). The environment, I actually feel from inside, it is brilliant because everyone knows there is one year until the World Cup, everyone knows it is very important, everyone wants to settle in the Indian team where the youngsters are coming.

“And they have been outstandingly good. They are not coming just because they have been performing so well. So, it is a process where obviously with Indians being emotional people, I always see that our players, Indian players, they always share what they feel. So, that is a great thing (to have)” – Sitanshu Kotak, on the equation between junior and senior players in the team.

“The harsh reality is almost every series that we go into, those stats are always at the top of the list. We always say we haven’t been in this team in 20 years or 15 plus years. So that means when we are taking our strides, we must be doing something right. So you can talk about not automatically qualifying for the World Cup, but certainly some of the strides that we make as a team is definitely commendable.

“Whenever you come to India, you want to play against the best team, win against the best team. So it will definitely be added motivation. We know it’s going to be a tough, uphill battle, but we’re looking forward to this one,” – Shai Hope, when asked if their long wait for a series win in India is added motivation.