West Indies will lock horns against India in the first ODI at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday. The Windies could not qualify for the upcoming World Cup, which will be played in India later in the year and they will be looking to start fresh in the ODI format.

On the other hand, India will play a handful of ODIs before they host the major event in their own conditions and they will be looking to adapt to the format. In fact, this is not India’s full-strength squad and the upcoming three-match ODI series against a beleaguered West Indies side will be the audition platform for the young players.

Players like Umran Malik, Jaydev Unadkat, Mukesh Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, and Ruturaj Gaikwad will aim to make a case for themselves in the ODI setup. 

Mainstays like Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant, and Mohammed Shami are not part of the forthcoming series and it will be a golden opportunity for the youngsters to make a case for themselves.

On the other hand, West Indies’ youngsters will be looking to deliver the goods and restart the road to recovery. The Windies have failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup for the first time in 48 years and one way to look at their epic downfall is the fact that they can not go to any low heights and they must believe the only way for them from here is up.

Match Prediction: There is no doubt that India will begin as red-hot favorites against a depleted West Indies.

West Indies Squad: Shai Hope(w/c), Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Alick Athanaze, Rovman Powell, Keacy Carty, Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Oshane Thomas, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, Dominic Drakes, Yannic Cariah.

India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat, Mukesh Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad