Source:

Last updated on: August 07, 2019 16:15 IST

Dhawan will rightfully take his place at the top of the order alongside Rohit.

West Indies will hope the return of the talismanic Gayle bolsters them.

IMAGE: India will look to take the momentum forward and continue their dominance over the Windies in the ODI series. Photograph: BCCI

With an air of invincibility, India return to the format that gave them a heartbreak in the not-too-distant past, facing West Indies in the first of the three-match ODI series, in Providence, Guyana, on Thursday.

Shikhar Dhawan makes a comeback in the format where he has been India's third best player after skipper Virat Kohli and deputy Rohit Sharma.

With 17 hundreds in 130 ODIs, Dhawan will rightfully take his place at the top of the order alongside Rohit, and like the initial matches of the World Cup, KL Rahul is likely to go back to batting at number 4.

With Kedar Jadhav expected to come in at No 5 or 6 depending on how floater Rishabh Pant is used, it will be a toss up between Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer for the remaining middle-order slots.

Both players possess a certain amount of flair but Pandey couldn't exactly seal it in the T20 Internationals and it's about time that the team management thinks of giving Iyer a go.

Having played all three matches in the T20Is, Bhuvneshwar Kumar could probably get some rest, while Mohammed Shami leads the attack in the ODIs. Navdeep Saini could also make his ODI debut.

The ouster from the World Cup semi-final could continue to linger but Kohli will fancy his team's chances in the series.

Apart from a handful of good bowling options, India also have quite a few swashbucklers of their own.

To start with, Rohit Sharma will look to continue his golden run with the bat in the 50-over format, having caressed his way to a record five centuries at the showpiece event in the United Kingdom.

No less daunting a prospect for the West Indies bowlers will be Rohit's opening partner, Shikhar Dhawan, whose World Cup campaign was cut short by a finger injury following a fine hundred against Australia.

Kohli, who also enjoyed a great run in the mega event, will not be short on motivation despite the lack of world beaters in the opposition camp. The batting mainstay is also aware that a section of former players have raised questions around his captaincy in the limited overs format.

It pained him that one bad outing, after a dominant run, put paid to his team's hopes in the World Cup.

While the stage in the Caribbean islands is no match to the one at the World Cup, Kohli will still be too pleased with a commanding performance by his team.

IMAGE: Gayle during the World Cup had announced that the home series against India will be his last. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images

Runs and wickets from the likes of young Rishabh Pant and Krunal Pandya have left the captain impressed, and hopeful of a bright future. Krunal was named Man of the Series for his all-round exploits in the T20s.

West Indies will be bolstered by the return of the swashbuckling Chris Gayle

Thoroughly outplayed in the shortest format, West Indies will hope the talismanic Gayle will come good in his farewell ODI series. Gayle had announced during the World Cup that the home series against India will be his last.

Left-handed opener John Campbell, Roston Chase and all-rounder Keemo Paul have all been recalled to the 14-member squad for the matches which will be contested at the Guyana National Stadium on Thursday, and on August 11 and 14 at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad.

Teams (from):

India: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kedar Jadhav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini

West Indies: Jason Holder (capt), Chris Gayle, John Campbell, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase, Fabian Allen, Carlos Brathwaite, Keemo Paul, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Kemar Roach.