India will take on the West Indies in the first ODI at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. With the next year’s ODI World Cup being the top agenda of the team, India would look to play their best possible combination.

At the same time, both teams would want to give enough opportunities to the backup players, so that they have enough game time before the ODI showpiece.

With ODIs becoming more and more sporadic, it is imperative for veteran batters like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to hit the ground running. There were doubts raised on Rohit’s future but he has put them on the backburner for the time being after scoring a stunning knock of 138 runs off 110 balls in the last ODI against England at Lord’s.

Kohli has also performed consistently in his most dominant format and there should not be any doubts regarding the future of both experienced players.

Jasprit Bumrah is not part of the squad as he is with the T20I team for the Asian Games. Mohammed Siraj will lead India’s pace attack, with Prasidh Krishna, Auqib Nabi Dar and Gurnoor Brar for the support.

Meanwhile, West Indies had suffered a 3-2 series loss against New Zealand in July despite playing at home. Shai Hope will need to lead from the front against a potent Indian team.

Head to Head: Matches: 140, Won by India: 72, Won by WI: 64, Tied: 2, No result: 4.

India squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (VC & WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir.

West Indies squad: Shai Hope (C), Jewel Andrew, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Vitel Lawes, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales