West Indies vs India 2019: India's ideal XI for the ODI series

With the 2019 World Cup in the rearview mirror, the Indian team will now turn its focus to the bilateral series - which starts with a West Indies tour. The Caribbean sojourn will comprise 3 T20 matches, 3 ODI matches and 2 Test matches. The four-week tour will kick off on 3rd August when the two teams square off in the first T20I.

The itinerary of the three-match ODI series is as follows:

1st ODI - Aug 08 (Thursday) | Venue - Providence Stadium, Guyana | Start time - 7:00 PM (IST)

2nd ODI - Aug 11 (Sunday) | Venue - Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad | Start time - 7:00 PM (IST)

3rd ODI - Aug 14 (Wednesday) | Venue - Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad | Start time - 7:00 PM (IST)

During the recently concluded World Cup, India reached the semi-finals due to major contributions from top-order batsmen like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. Their middle-order looked fragile throughout the tournament though, and was a huge cause of concern for the team management.

The likes of Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, MS Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik and Kedar Jadhav failed to deliver consistently in the middle order. In that context, the upcoming series will be a great opportunity for players like Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer to impress the team management.

Here is India's ideal ODI XI for the series against West Indies:

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Openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan will continue their association at the top order during the upcoming series. The duo has been highly consistent in ODI cricket and forged numerous match-winning partnerships in the last few years.

KL Rahul is a contender for one of the opening slots but India are likely to persist with the above-mentioned pair considering their experience and success in international cricket.

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Middle Order

Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk)

KL Rahul

Virat Kohli will play at his patented number 3 position from where he can anchor the Indian innings. Rahul might occupy the crucial number 4 batting slot. He has played exceptionally in the IPL during the last few years and the team management would be expecting the same kind of consistency from him in ODIs. Rahul's versatility makes him the perfect candidate for this position.

The slots for Manish Pandey and Rishabh Pant will depend on the match situation. Pant might bat ahead of Pandey if the team requires acceleration at a certain stage of the game. And Pandey will be preferred when the innings needs to be stabilized.

Rahul and Pandey will provide solidity to the middle order, while Pant will act as the finisher in the lineup.

Lower order

Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal

Shami will be looking to cement his position in the ODI team by performing consistently

After his impressive performances in the recently concluded World Cup, Ravindra Jadeja will in all likelihood be a front-runner for a spot in the limited-overs team. Jadeja's exceptional fielding ability, economical bowling and lower order batting contributions make him a valuable addition to this XI.

Yuzvendra Chahal will join Jadeja in the spin department.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Khaleel Ahmed will form the pace attack. Shami and Ahmed will look to cement their positions in the XI with some consistent performances during the series. Kumar meanwhile is expected to handle the death overs bowling responsibility in Jasprit Bumrah's absence.

Ideal XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed

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