India and West Indies will begin their five-match ODI series at Nehru Stadium in Kochi on Wednesday at 5 a.m. ET. Live stream the match by clicking this link.
Both teams are making their final preparations for the 2015 ICC World Cup and will use these matches to scout their best lineups and build as much momentum as they can heading into the tournament. This will be India's last home series before the Cup and it's the second time they will host West Indies in the past 12 months. India won the November 2013 one-day series, 2-1.
Both sides will be dealing with changes in their lineups. India is resting spinner Ravi Ashwin and replacing him with Kuldeep Yadav, who has never played for India before nor even played in a List A game. Rohit Sharma is also out due to injury and Murali Vijay will take his spot.
Captain MS Dhoni said he doesn't mind India experimenting with its lineup. "We want to see the bigger picture here," he told ESPNCricinfo. "We want to do a few things because you don't want to go to Australia and say we should have done this, we should have done that. We will see what our cricketers can offer ... but it is important to start well and look to win the series."
West Indies star batsman Chris Gayle will be out, at least in the early part of the series, due to a back injury. Lendl Simmons will be his replacement and may be used at the top of the order to get West Indies off to a quick start. Sunil Narine will also be unavailable after being banned from bowling and spinner Sulieman Benn will be his replacement.
West Indies manager Richie Richardson isn't worried about the absence of Narine. "We were positive even without him that we can play well against India and beat India," he told ESPNCricinfo. "That's the attitude we have got to adapt."
Starting Squads
India: MS Dhoni (capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Murali Vijay.
West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (capt.), Leon Johnson, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jermaine Blackwood, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Jason Holder, Suleiman Benn, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor.
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