India vs West Indies ODI series: India and West Indies are scheduled to play a three-match ODI series from February 6.
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India’s first international fixture in 2022 at home is only three days away from now as West Indies’ tour of India will commence with a three-match ODI series in Ahmedabad.
While the Narendra Modi Stadium was slated to host the first ODI, Jaipur and Kolkata were in line to host the second and third ODI respectively as per the original plan. However, a third wave of COVID-19 forced the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to move the whole ODI and T20I series in Ahmedabad and Kolkata respectively.
Irrespective of the format of the first match, visiting teams playing a warm-up match against a state or an A side before the first international fixture is becoming a thing of the past especially in the COVID era.
In times when teams have to undergo a mandatory quarantine period, multi-format professionals expected to play as per tightly-knit schedules don’t really have the time to play warm-up matches. Hence, there won’t be one before India vs West Indies ODIs either.
Will India vs West Indies ODI series postponed?
In addition to being a historic occasion where the hosts will become the first-ever team to play their 1,000th ODI, it will also be the first match when Rohit Sharma will lead India as a regular captain and not a stand-in captain.
Sharma, who has led India in 10 ODIs and 22 T20Is till date, is quite likely to begin this journey without dependable opening partner Shikhar Dhawan.
With batting trio of Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad among seven members of the Indian contingent who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Ahmedabad, they are unlikely to take part in the first match on Sunday. Instead, there are high chances of Sharma opening the batting with Mayank Agarwal for the first time in an ODI.
While a COVID outburst such as this had it in it for the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) to postpone the start of the series by 3-4 days, no mention of the same has been made in their official statement for now. With Agarwal included as a replacement, the series could be conducted as per the original schedule with players joining the squad before the second ODI depending on individual recovery.
