Hope says India series will test West Indies before qualifiers

West Indies captain Shai Hope says the three-match one-day international series against India will test his team and help it prepare for the qualification tournament for the 2027 men’s Cricket World Cup. The series is scheduled to begin Sunday, September 27, in Thiruvananthapuram and conclude October 3 in New Chandigarh, with the second match set for Guwahati. Hope described playing India in its home conditions as a challenge and said the series would show where West Indies stands as a team. He made the remarks at a pre-match press conference, saying his players wanted to test themselves against a strong opponent and adapt to the conditions. The West Indies Cricket preview says the first two matches conclude the current cycle for automatic World Cup qualification. It says West Indies cannot pass its nearest challengers in the standings, regardless of the series results, and will therefore need to compete in the ICC qualifying tournament early next year. The series is thus part of the team’s preparation for that route, though the results themselves remain unknown.