India and West Indies set for ODI series opener

India and West Indies are scheduled to open a three-match one-day international series on September 27 at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, with Shubman Gill captaining India and Shai Hope leading the visitors. The series is previewed as a contest between India’s experienced senior batters and a West Indies side seeking to challenge the hosts, but no match result or playing XI has yet been reported. The main selection question for India is whether Yashasvi Jaiswal will open alongside Rohit Sharma or whether the team will retain the Rohit-Shubman Gill pairing. Jaiswal is included in India’s published squad, alongside Rohit, Gill and Virat Kohli. India’s management has not announced which opening combination it will use for the first match. Kohli is 51 runs short of reaching 15,000 in ODI cricket, a milestone that would make him the second batter to reach that mark after Sachin Tendulkar, according to the previews. He has scored 2,261 ODI runs against West Indies at an average of 66.50, figures also reported in the match coverage. Rohit, meanwhile, returns to the series after scoring a century against England, as noted in a preview.