Rohit Sharma’s presence as the new leader, with a fresh template to arrest the familiar ‘middle-order muddle’, is exactly what the Indian team needs while ushering in a new era, which will begin with the ODI series against the West Indies, beginning in Ahmedabad on Sunday (February 6). After a rude reality check against a weak South African side in the away series, India are now back in familiar settings with a new ODI captain in Rohit, who will team up with illustrious Rahul Dravid and strive to get India back to winning ways.
The series-opener is the historic 1000th ODI for India, who would like to begin their preparations for the 2023 World Cup after failing to win the coveted trophy in 2015 and 2019, and the team will indeed look at a paradigm shift in strategy. The ‘Rohit-Dravid’ duo over the course of the next few months will underline the Men-in-Blue’s philosophy in the 50-over format after it became clear that some rejigging is needed as a part of course correction. The series beginning Sunday would be the perfect platform to focus on setting their struggling middle-order right.
Firstly, skipper Rohit, one of the finest white-ball exponents, will have to lead from the front. With KL Rahul unavailable in the first game, and other specialist openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad both testing COVID-19 positive, it will be Ishan Kishan who would be opening the batting with the skipper.
Match Details
India vs West Indies, 1st ODI
Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Date & Time: February 6th at 1.30 PM IST
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar website and app
India vs West Indies My Dream11 Team
Wicketkeeper: Nicholas Pooran, Shai Hope (VC), Rishabh Pant
Batters: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (C), Shamarh Brooks
All-rounders: Jason Holder, Washington Sundar
Bowlers: Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Alzarri Joseph
Captain: Virat Kohli
Vice-Captain: Shai Hope
IND vs WI Playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna/Mohammad Siraj
West Indies: Shai Hope (wk), Nkrumah Bonner/Brandon King, Shamarh Brooks, Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd/Hayden Walsh Jr, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach
Check Dream11 Prediction/ WI Dream11 Team/ IND Dream11 Team/ WEST INDIES Dream11 Player List/ INDIA Dream11 Player List/ Dream11 Guru Tips – India vs West Indies/ Fantasy Cricket Tips and more.
