West Indies and India are prepared for the first of four one-day internationals, in Jamaica, after extremely contrasting World Twenty20 campaigns in England. India entered the tournament as one of the favourites but failed very badly, losing all their matches in the Super Eights stage. As a result of their second-round elimination, India reached the Caribbean even before their hosts, who exceeded expectations by qualifying for the semi-finals, where they lost to Sri Lanka.
For India, a team shaken by defeat, injury and fatigue, this series is the last before a long break until the Champions Trophy in September. They will do well to focus on the task at hand, rather than think about the lengthy rest their tired bodies deserve.
India look weakened as they are without Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina and Zaheer Khan, four key players either injured or resting because of their hectic schedule in recent months. Their unavailability, though, opens up rare opportunities for players on the fringes of the national squad such as Dinesh Karthik, S Badrinath and M Vijay because the Indian one-day side has been a settled unit for a while now. It also gives others, such as Ashish Nehra, a new lease of life for few would have expected him to return after four years on the sidelines.
In West Indies side, the selectors have left out Lendl Simmons from the squad for the first two games. There are other twists in the team with Darren Sammy omitted, Runako Morton and Narsingh Deonarine recalled, and the uncapped Darren Bravo brought in.
Teams:
West Indies: CH Gayle, LS Baker, SJ Benn, DE Bernard, DJ Bravo, DM Bravo, S Chanderpaul, N Deonarine, RS Morton, D Ramdin, R Rampaul, RR Sarwan, JE Taylor
India: MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, S Badrinath, G Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, RA Jadeja, KD Karthik, P Kumar, AM Nayar, A Nehra, PP Ojha, YK Pathan, I Sharma, RG Sharma, RP Singh, M Vijay
West Indies and India are prepared for the first of four one-day internationals, in Jamaica, after extremely contrasting World Twenty20 campaigns in England. India entered the tournament as one of the favourites but failed very badly, losing all their matches in the Super Eights stage. As a result of their second-round elimination, India reached the Caribbean even before their hosts, who exceeded expectations by qualifying for the semi-finals, where they lost to Sri Lanka.
For India, a team shaken by defeat, injury and fatigue, this series is the last before a long break until the Champions Trophy in September. They will do well to focus on the task at hand, rather than think about the lengthy rest their tired bodies deserve.
MS Dhoni during practice session at Sabina Park in Jamaica
India look weakened as they are without Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina and Zaheer Khan, four key players either injured or resting because of their hectic schedule in recent months. Their unavailability, though, opens up rare opportunities for players on the fringes of the national squad such as Dinesh Karthik, S Badrinath and M Vijay because the Indian one-day side has been a settled unit for a while now. It also gives others, such as Ashish Nehra, a new lease of life for few would have expected him to return after four years on the sidelines.
In West Indies side, the selectors have left out Lendl Simmons from the squad for the first two games. There are other twists in the team with Darren Sammy omitted, Runako Morton and Narsingh Deonarine recalled, and the uncapped Darren Bravo brought in.
Teams:
West Indies: CH Gayle, LS Baker, SJ Benn, DE Bernard, DJ Bravo, DM Bravo, S Chanderpaul, N Deonarine, RS Morton, D Ramdin, R Rampaul, RR Sarwan, JE Taylor
India: MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, S Badrinath, G Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, RA Jadeja, KD Karthik, P Kumar, AM Nayar, A Nehra, PP Ojha, YK Pathan, I Sharma, RG Sharma, RP Singh, M Vijay
Tags: Ashish Nehra, Badrinath, Caribbean, Champions Trophy, Dinesh Karthick, England T20 World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup, India - West Indies Series, India vs West Indies, Jamaica, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Murali Vijay, Sachin Tendulkar, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag, West Indies - India Series, West Indies vs India, Zaheer Khan
