West Indies' long route to 2027 ODI World Cup starts in India

It is all about the 2027 ODI World Cup now. Every series that any team plays will be about putting things in place so that they have all bases covered by the time the first ball is bowled next October. West Indies have an extra box to tick given they have to run the gauntlet at the Qualfiier for the third successive time to make the ICC event.

India have played three ODI series this year and lost two of them. For various reasons - injuries, focus on the T20 World Cup which they won - they have struggled to put their first-choice team on the park and are once again without Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, the allrounder who balances the XI and a once in a generation fast bowler. For all the hoops they must jump through, it is unfathomable that India will line up without either of them in Southern Africa if they are even halfway ready to play.

Neither is with the ODI team at the moment which leaves the bowling side of things a little light. Back-up allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy - only recently at full fitness himself - might have to get used to bowling his full 10 overs. An opposition team might see that as opportunity.

Form guide

India: LLWWW (last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies: WLLLW

Virat Kohli is 59 runs short of 15000 in ODIs and given he averages 66.50 against West Indies, there is a decent chance of history being made in Thiruvananthapuram. The one-day game is his best format primarily because he is able to keep up a good rate of scoring without having to take risks. Still, there has been a noticeable trend lately of Kohli looking to up his tempo, relying on the same shots he always does - drives and flicks and pulls - just playing them in the air. In six matches in 2026, he has a strike rate of 106.66 The only other year where he finished with a strike rate above 100 was 2018.

Alzarri Joseph and Daren Sammy had a falling out in public earlier this year over the fast bowler not playing the two Tests against Pakistan. At the start of this ODI series, the coach name-checked Joseph, highlighting that he is back in the team as a CPL champion. Either the ice has thawed or Joseph has been true to his words: "I'm a professional, so I'm going to go to work. I am representing the West Indies. I'm not representing Daren Sammy, so for me, I'm neither here nor there in terms of a relationship."

Team news: Gill fit to play

India captain Shubman Gill is fit to play after taking a blow to the elbow in the nets. Several first-choice players are with the T20I side at the Asian Games, including Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel which opens up a balance issue here. If India believe they can get 10 overs out of Reddy, they might go batting heavy with their XI, giving Naman Dhir a debut in the middle order. If they prefer bowling cover, they might stick with Gurnoor Brar or call up Auqib Nabi for his debut

India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 8 Naman Dhir/Gurnoor Brar/Auqib Nabi, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Mohammed Siraj

West Indies (probable) 1 John Campbell, 2 Justin Greaves, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Shai Hope (capt & wk), 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Matthew Forde, 8 Gudakesh Motie, 9 Jayden Seales/Shamar Joseph, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Vitel Lawes

Pitch and conditions: Eyes on the quicks

Greenfield international stadium has hosted two previous ODIs. As small a sample size as that is, it is still the ground with the third best bowling average (25.35) for seamers in India. West Indies were undone by spin when they played here in 2018, bowled out for 104 with Ravindra Jadeja picking up four wickets. There is minimal threat of rain in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

Stats and trivia: Hope leads the way at No. 4