WI vs IND: India’s Predicted Playing XI for first ODI

India is all set to take on West Indies in three-match ODI series starting from the 22nd of July at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain. Shikhar Dhawan will lead the Indian side in absence of big names like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah, who all are rested. However, the youngsters will get their chances and they will be looking to grab them with the T20 World Cup coming up.

India are coming off a 2-1 ODI series victory against England and will fancy beating West Indies given their recent form. With a number of match-winners in the lineup, India is expected to whitewash the Nicholas Pooran-led side. West Indies recently lost the ODI series 3-0 at home to Bangladesh and are desperate to get back to winning ways.

Let’s look at India’s probable playing XI for the 1st ODI against West Indies:

Openers – Shikhar Dhawan (c), Ishan Kishan (wk)

Shikhar Dhawan has been named the Indian skipper for the three ODIs and this will be a great opportunity for him to make a statement. The 36-year-old is approaching the final stages of his international career and was axed from the T20I squads despite his consistent form in IPL. The left-hander led India in white-ball games in Sri Lanka last year and he will be eyeing to score big in the series.

Ishan Kishan has been in fine form in the last few months right from the home series against South Africa, and he is expected to partner Dhawan at the top of the order. The 24-year-old has played just three ODIs so far, scoring 88 runs with a fifty to his name. A good performance in the ODIs will push his chances above for the backup opener slot in the Indian side for the T20 World Cup.