In Virat Kohli's absence, Rohit Sharma leads an Indian team brimming with confidence against the West Indies in the first of the three T20 Internationals at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday.
The absence of Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, dropped from the T20I squad for the series, will put extra pressure on Rohit. The regular skipper has been rested considering India's hectic schedule in the next couple of months.
But the 31-year-old had successfully led India to Asian Cup title defence in September, and in the process, managed to earn accolades for his leadership skills.
Having said that, it will be a tough ask for India to beat the Windies in the shortest format of the game. Unlike the Test and up to some extent, ODI cricket, T20 is the staple diet for Caribbean cricketers.
Besides, they are also the reigning World champions in the format. And for the first time in the tour, the Windies will enter the field on an equal footing. In the slam-bang version of cricket, there is a very limited bearing of what happened in the past.
The enforcement in the form of Carlos Brathwaite, Keiron Pollard, Andre Russell and Darren Bravo meant that Windies T20I side is different from the ones which have been at the receiving end of India's domination.
But strangely, the Windies have a poor year till date, winning two of the 10 matches, including a match against a World XI.
Keeping in mind the World T20 in 2020, India have picked three uncapped players (Krunal Pandya, S Nadeem and Khaleel Ahmed) for this and the Australia series, aside from bringing back the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Washington Sundar to the squad.
The hosts would want skipper Rohit to lead from the front and continue his purple patch with the bat. The seasoned Mumbai batsman was the second highest scorer behind Kohli, scoring 389 runs at 129.66, that included two hundreds.
Besides, Eden is also a happy hunting ground for Rohit. The 31-year old has a world record score of 264 in ODIs here in 2014, a Test ton (177) and two IPL titles won on this ground. The classy opener also made his first-class debut at Eden and got his first IPL ton here.
The three matches will also give another opportunity to young pacer Khaleel Ahmed who drew a lot of praise from skipper Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri during the ODIs.
The tourists will depend on their famed T20 specialists who play in different leagues across the globe to come good.
While Darren Bravo is set to play for West Indies for the first time in two years, dashing all-rounder Pollard will don the national jersey for the first time in a year.
Hetmyer, 21, is also in superb form scoring 259 runs in the ODI series including the counter-attacking 106 in Guwahati.
Captain Brathwaite, who famously clubbed four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes to win the World Cup here two years ago, will also be counted on as a match winner for the side missing the services of talisman Chris Gayle who declined selection. Mystery spinner Sunil Narine is also absent.
The Windies will also miss offie Ashley Nurse who picked up an injury during the ODIs and has been ruled out. The Eden track promises a run feast with a bit of grass on the surface affording even bounce and the ball expected to come on to the bat nicely.
West Indies lead India 5-2 in the nine matches they have played so far, with one no result.
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem.
West Indies: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Oshane Thomas
(With Agency inputs)
