West Indies named an unchanged squad for the first two one-day international matches against India of their ODI series. India, after their awful loss to Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy final, will play the West Indies in a five-match ODI series and a lone T20 in the Caribbean.
The West Indies, as the top eight teams in the world slugged it out in the Champions Trophy, were busy with their own series, trying to get those ranking points up in a bid to qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup – only the top eight ranked teams are guaranteed qualification.
They only managed to draw 1-1 against Afghanistan, but after fighting back in the second ODI, the West Indies selectors have decided to stick with the same squad of 13 men.
What that also means is that there seems to be no sign of the likes of Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and the rest making it back to the West Indies ODI team, while Shannon Gabriel was not considered as he continues his recovery from injury.
Which is a pity, because with all of those players in the squad, West Indies, as they have shown in multiple World T20s, become a formidable unit.
Without them, though, you can see what happens, with the Windies currently ninth in the ICC rankings, which led to them missing out on a major tournament like the Champions Trophy.
There is quite a bit of talent in this squad, though, and the players will, no doubt, get a lot better by playing a strong team like India.
The BCCI have sent a near full-strength squad for the West Indies tour, with only Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah missing from the CT squad. Both those players have been given a rest, with Kuldeep Yadav and Rishabh Pant getting an opportunity to show their worth in India colours.
The first ODI starts on Friday at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad.
West Indies squad (first two ODIs):
Jason Holder (C), Devendra Bishoo, Jonathan Carter, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins, Shai Hope (WK), Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammad, Ashley Nurse, Kieran Powell, Rovman Powell, Kesrick Williams.
