Both India and West Indies will be approaching this ODI series in a different way. With only a couple of months to go for ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, India will be looking to finetune their squad. They will be eager to test some players in this series. On the other hand, West Indies have recently faced a huge disappointment of not qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in the history of the tournament. Now begins their quest to reboot and restart.

Coming to the Indian squad first, the management will be eager to take a look at Suryakumar Yadav. This is going to be an important series for him. Not forgetting, a couple of players – KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer – are potentially coming back to the team soon, this three-match series provides a great opportunity for Surya. If he plays (I am hoping he plays all matches), he must make an impact and prove to the selectors that he is as good in ODIs as In T20Is.

One of the biggest strengths for India is the availability of three all-rounders – Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. I am a massive Axar fan. I hope India are look to find a way to play Axar more and more. If they do that, with another leg-spinner in the loop, it will be a solid spin-bowling attack. However, this combination will make it tough for R Ashwin to make a comeback and get into the playing XI.

When you look at Indian batting lineup, you hardly see a bowling option in that top four or five. That’s why in a lineup like India’s, number 6,7 or 8 become very crucial. India’s pace-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur might also fall into this category. In my view, Hardik, Jadeja and Axar look like the players who are going to play on these key spots.

When I try and pick an ODI squad, my must-haves are leg-spinner, a solid group of all-rounders and X-factor pacers. To fulfil the last requirement, India should look to play Umran Malik as much as possible. I absolutely like the fact that despite him being a little off in IPL, selectors have backed him. I think Umran can become the point of difference for India. This series is going to be quite an important series for him to stand up and get noticed. It is true that Malik has not been in great form of late. However, he can become the X-factor for India.

Jaydev Unadkat is a good option in ODI cricket as he provided variation being a left armer but there are stubborn partnerships and to break those you need to have guys like Malik, who are the point of difference.

I am sure Mohammed Shami would be back near to the World Cup. In the leg-spinner’s role, I would go with Yuzvendra Chahal. Hardik Pandya should open the bowling. His fitness levels are fine, and I cannot see why he cannot open the bowling for India in ODIs. Mohammed Siraj should play for me as well.

In this modern age, teams are looking to set up batting orders which can chase down 400 runs or above. The batting lineup should be capable of scoring 400 runs. That’s the big challenge for all the top sides in the world today.

If India play Axar, they will have a good batting depth, till number 8 or 9. If that’s the case, the top 4 should look to play aggressively in the first 20 to 25 overs and make as many runs as possible. Good ball-striking in the first half of the match may make all the difference eventually.

India are also going to feature in the Asia Cup 2023, which is going to be a terrific opportunity for all the Asian sides ahead of the World Cup. Not only will it be a highly competitive series that all six teams will look to win but will also provide a wonderful preparation ground for the World Cup.

West Indies are down but they have resources to rebuild

As far as West Indies are concerned, hopefully, this series will be the starting point of a journey back to the golden days. Several players are missing from the squad for India ODIs. Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder, the two players who were part of the World Cup qualifiers, are not there in the squad. Oshane Thomas has come back in. Like Malik, Oshane Thomas is very quick and if he bowls well, he will provide that point of difference. Shimron Hetmyer also returns to the squad and India are aware of what he is capable of. There are many players in the West Indies squad for whom India may have high regards. They are players who have done well in the Indian Premier League individually but have not really put together a collective performance for the West Indies side consistently.

Dominic Drakes is one exciting talent to watch out for. The pacer is a player for the future for Windies cricket. They have also got a good number of all-rounders in their team, who provide balance to the side. The kind of players they have, West Indies can still cause problems. They may not be the favourites to win the series, but WI have talent and skills to be competitive with India.