India begin their long road to the 2027 World Cup against West Indies in the first ODI on Sept. 27 at Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Shubman Gill leads the side, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma returning; play is scheduled for 2 p.m. IST.
The Sporting News predicts an India win. Kohli is 59 runs short of 15,000 ODI runs, while Rohit needs 115 to reach 12,000. The outlet says early swing could help West Indies fast bowlers Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph trouble India’s top order, and describes West Indies’ batting as a potential weakness.
Projected India XI: Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar. Projected West Indies XI: John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph. JioHotstar is listed for TV and streaming.
