India vs West Indies: Fringe players set for first audition as Virat Kohli's team aims to find best combination for T20 World Cup

We are only weeks away from the disappointment of the World Cup exit at the hands of New Zealand in the semi-finals but time, tide and cricket wait for none. The new cycle of the sport is about to get underway for India as they take on West Indies in first of the three-match T20I series on Saturday at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill in Florida. [caption id=“attachment_7103181” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  India would want the new comers to cement their place in T20I side with good performances against West Indies. AFP[/caption] The destination for the new cycle is the T20I World Cup which will take place next year in Australia. And keeping the silverware in mind, Indian selectors showed the required ‘intent’, making changes and giving the squad a sort of a fresh look. The 15-member squad has nine new players compared to India’s previous T20I unit which competed against Australia at home. “To not have two of the finishers – Hardik Pandya and MS Dhoni around is different but also provides opportunity to players coming in to show what they have,” captain Virat Kohli said on the eve of the match. Though the skipper was speaking in the context of the role of finishers, the expectations are true for other positions as well. Team India is in search for their best combination of 15 and 11 before the World Cup. However, despite multiple new faces and return of some forgotten players, the retention of heavyweights like Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and other established stars like KL Rahul, Bhuvneshwar Kumar only indicates the desire of India to be on the right side of the results while running the 2020 T20 World Cup auditions. Kohli in his media briefing, on Friday in Florida, confirmed that Dhawan will be opening the innings for India. His return would drive Rahul back to No 4 position with Rohit and Kohli taking up the spot of the other opener and No 3 position respectively. Rishabh Pant will take another spot in the batting lineup while one spot will be gobbled by an all-rounder. That only leaves one spot at No 5 for either Shreyas Iyer or Manish Pandey. Both men had decent IPL this year and a very good India A tour of West Indies. Whoever misses out will be unlucky but luck hasn’t been behind many of the Indian middle-order batsmen for long. All-rounder spot could also be up for debate. Krunal Pandya is expected to do the role in the absence of Hardik Pandya but Ravindra Jadeja showed his quality towards the end of India’s campaign at World Cup with exceptional all-round performances. It’s impossible to keep Jadeja out for long and if Krunal gets a go ahead of Jadeja, he will know more than 100 percent will be required. Bowling picks are the most exciting aspect of India’s squad. Spin twins Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvenbdra Chahal are missing and leggie Rahul Chahar has the opportunity to showcase his spin wizardry that kept public hooked to their TV sets during IPL. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini and Deepak Chahar make up the pace options. And we should soon see one of the new comers making debut. On the other hand, West Indies have recalled Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine as they look to forget the poor World Cup campaign. West Indies are the reigning T20 World Champions but their form in the format has been nothing to be proud of in recent time. Runs have not come from the bat while wickets have been an expensive prospect as West Indies languish at ninth position in ICC T20I team rankings. India are fifth and are clear favourites but the Caribbean side has enough players to upset the apple cart. Flair, brute strength, amazing fielding and abundant all-round qualities – Carlos Brathwaite’s side are loaded with some serious talent but all they need is composure.Andre Russel’s absence for first two matches due to a knee injury is not good news for the home side though. The first match at Florida between the two sides in 2016 witnessed a run-fest with close to 500 runs being scored. In the second match, West Indies were bowled out for 143 before the game was washed out due to rain. Only in the evening we will know what kind of strip will be on offer but for India, one eye will be on result and the other on team building. But the spots are few so candidates will have to give their best. Squads: West Indies: John Campbell, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicolas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Carlos Brathwaite (c), Keemo Paul, Sunil Narine, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Anthony Bramble, Jason Mohammed, Khary Pierre. India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini. The match will start at 8 pm and will be live on the Sony Pictures Sports Network. The game can also be streamed on SonyLiv.