Captain Virat Kohli will look to put to rest all the off-field controversies regarding Anil Kumble’s controversial exit as India gears up for the first One-Day International against a second string West Indies here on Friday.
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A cluster of big wins in the five-match ODI series and single T20 will help Kohli divert the unnecessary attention pinned on him with many ready to make him the ‘fall guy’ in the entire Kumble episode.
A 5-0 whitewash is something that is expected against a side that has a cumulative ODI experience of 213 matches between 13 players with skipper Holder as the most capped player with 58 matches to his name.
For India, this series is also an ideal platform to test the team’s bench strength.
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With Jasprit Bumrah being rested for the series, it will be an ideal opportunity for the captain to check out Mohammed Shami.
The teams (from):
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, M.S. Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, R. Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik and Umesh Yadav.
West Indies: Jason Holder (captain), Jonathan Carter, Miguel Cummins, Alzarri Joseph, Jason Mohammed, Kieran Powell, Kesrick Williams, Devendra Bishoo, Roston Chase, Shai Hope (wk), Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse and Rovman Powell .