Men in Blue begin ODI World Cup countdown

They have been gone. All these 1000’s of tickets. Gone in a matter of hours. A younger cricket fan, who lives close to the Greenfield Stadium, nonetheless blames himself for not logging in a bit earlier on the day ticket gross sales opened. He tried the black market, too, although it could have price him thrice the precise value, however no ticket was obtainable.

A lot for all these talks concerning the meaninglessness of bilateral ODI collection. The 50-over format has its personal charms. Granted, it’s no Take a look at match. Nothing is. Nevertheless it gives an terrible lot greater than T20 cricket.

The three-match ODI collection between India and the West Indies, which begins in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday (September 26, 2026), certainly guarantees lots. With the World Cup only a 12 months away, that is undoubtedly the start of the highway map for India, although the identical can’t be mentioned concerning the visiting group, which first has to qualify for the sport’s showpiece (and this was the group that received the primary two editions and misplaced to India within the remaining of the third).

Wanting forward — and making ready for — the World Cup is ok. However in case you are somebody who believes that artwork is for artwork’s sake, that is one collection you wouldn’t wish to miss: you get to observe two of the fashionable masters, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

That is, in fact, the one format they play for India. And they don’t seem to be going to be round perpetually. Kohli is 37. Rohit is 39. You hardly would have considered that if you watched them play in England simply a few months in the past.

This collection may additionally see each reaching extra milestones: Kohli wants solely 59 extra to turn out to be the second man to attain 15,000 ODI runs after Sachin Tendulkar, whereas Rohit requires 105 to the touch 12,000.

The opposite top-order batter, skipper Shubman Gill, has been in elegant type and is the world’s No. 1 within the format. He doesn’t have at his disposal the very best XI due to the continuing Asian Video games and damage issues, however that opens alternatives for gamers like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Auqib Nabi and Naman Dhir.

The West Indians can be determined for present in a rustic the place they haven’t received an ODI collection since 2002. Shai Hope and his males might not discover it simple towards the category, expertise and abilities of India.

The groups (from): India: Shubman Gill (Capt.), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ok.L. Rahul (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi and Naman Dhir.

West Indies: Shai Hope (Capt.), John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Sherfane Rutherford, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Matthew Forde, Roston Chase, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph, Jewel Andrew, Vitel Lawes and Keemo Paul.

Match begins at 2 p.m.