India vs West Indies, India Playing XI vs West Indies (Predicted), 1st T20I, India Tour Of West Indies 2022

India vs West Indies, India Playing XI vs West Indies (Predicted), 1st T20I, India Tour Of West Indies 2022. India vs West Indies T20I series will commence on 29th July 2022 with the first T20I match.

The match will be played at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad, and will get started at 08:00 PM as per Indian Standard Time, the toss of the match will be at 07:30 PM.  The two teams last played a T20I and ODI series earlier in February this year. India managed to defeat West Indies in all the three ODIs and T20Is, winning both the series 3-0.

Team India seems to be on a golden run against the West Indies as they completed a trio of whitewash in their last three limited overs series. The recent ODI series vs West Indies saw Team India beat West Indies 3-0. The best thing was that the visitors were able to achieve this feat even with a second-string side led by Shikhar Dhawan.

Now, the upcoming T20I series brings a fresh challenge to the Indian team. Unlike the recent encounters for the visitors, this series will have 5 matches instead of the normal 3 matches. While 3 matches will be played in the West Indies, the last two matches shall be played in the US to boost the game in the country.

The squad for Team India will also see a revamp. Most of the players that played the ODI series aren’t available for the T20I series. These include the likes of batters Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, keeper Sanju Samson, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, pacers Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, and Prasidh Krishna, who aren’t available for the T20I series vs West Indies.  For the T20I series, Rohit Sharma will be back as captain. However, a fit again KL Rahul is unavailable due to Covid-19.

The biggest question for Team India would be the choice of the second opener alongside Rohit Sharma. The absence of KL Rahul leaves the visitors with two options. One option is the primary backup opener Ishan Kishan whereas the second option is the make-shift experimental opener, Rishabh Pant. Both have a strong case, but the choice of opener should most likely be Rishabh Pant who was selected ahead of Ishan Kishan as the opener in the England T20I series.

The other debate would be the selection of number 3. With Virat Kohli not available, India has two options for this spot. Those are Deepak Hooda and Shreyas Iyer. But if one takes the cues from the recent England Series and the recently concluded West Indies ODI series, Shreyas Iyer has an upper hand for the number 3 spot.

From the available bowling options, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav should definitely play in the starting 11. The final bowler spot should be one of Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, or Arshdeep Singh. Ravichandran Ashwin is back in the T20I setup and will be looking to book his birth for the T20 World Cup. The senior spinner last played a T20I in the home series against New Zealand last year (November).

It is worthy of mention that, former India captain Virat Kohli and lead pacer across formats Jasprit Bumrah have been rested for the tour of the Caribbean. Yuzvendra Chahal has also not been included in the upcoming T20I series.

Sanju Samson has been named to Team India’s T20 roster ahead of their forthcoming five-match T20I series against the West Indies. KL Rahul has been replaced in the lineup by Sanju Samson. The star from Kerala was a member of the team for the just-finished ODI series against the West Indies but was not included in the T20I squad. 

Probable XI:- Rohit Sharma (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer,  Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav & Arshdeep Singh

India vs West Indies, India Playing XI vs West Indies (Predicted), 1st T20I, India Tour Of West Indies 2022

Rohit Sharma

In the absence of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma will get the company of his Mumbai Indians teammate Ishan Kishan or makeshift opener Rishabh Pant at the top order as the pair is expected to start the proceedings for team India.

He is the 2nd leading T20I run-scorer after New Zealand’s Martin Guptill having amassed 3379 runs in 128 T20Is averaging 31.88. He was rested for the preceding ODIs against West Indies but will captain the T20I squad. He has the maximum 4 tons besides his name.

In the previous T20I series against England, the right-handed batsman scored 66 runs in 3 games at an average of 22.0. He scored a top knock of 33 runs.

Rishabh Pant

For the 2nd openers slot, Ishan Kishan will be in a race with Rishabh Pant. Rishabh Pant opened for the first time in T20I cricket during India’s 49-run win over England in the 2nd of a three-match T20I series in Birmingham on Saturday.

Rishabh Pant replaced Ishan Kishan in the batting unit and walked out to open with captain Rohit Sharma. The left-hander hit 26 off just 15 balls as India raced to 49 for no loss inside the 5th over. In the 3rd T20I, he scored only 1 off 5 balls.

In 50 T20Is, he has scored 768 runs averaging 22.59 with 3 fifties with a best of 65. He had also scored his maiden ODI ton in the ODIs against England and amassed the most runs – 125 in 2 innings.

Shreyas Iyer

In the three preceding ODIs against the Windies, Shreyas Iyer scored 161 runs at a fantastic average of 53.67 and a similarly outstanding strike rate of 99.38. He hit half-centuries in the opening two games before failing to reach a third straight fifty on Wednesday by only six runs. In the absence of Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer will be a good choice for the one-down position. He has scored 931 runs in 42 T20Is averaging 34.48 with 6 fifties.

Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav might be another middle-order batter for the team in the 1st T20I against West Indies. The right-handed batsman failed to score in the recent ODI series against West Indies, getting out for cheap scores in 3 games.

However, the right-handed batsman slammed a century in the 3rd T20I of the previous T20I series against hosts England. Suryakumar Yadav scored 171 runs in 3 games averaging 57 in the England series. He has amassed 537 runs in 19 T20Is averaging 38.36. His highest of 117 came in a losing cause against England in the preceding T20I series.

Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya might be an all-rounder for the team in the 1st T20I. The right-handed batsman was part of the previous T20I series against England. He scored 63 runs in 2 games and also picked 5 wickets in the series. Hardik Pandya will bat in the middle order for the team.

He returned to the Indian T20I team after an impressive IPL 2022 and even led in the Ireland T20Is. He has played 63 T20Is and amassed 770 runs averaging 24.06 and picked 48 scalps averaging 27.46.

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik has been a part of the Indian T20I squad since the South Africa series at home. He was retained in the series against England and now against West Indies. He will slot in at number seven as India’s designated finisher.

Following a stupendous IPL 2022 season for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), during which he clobbered 330 runs at a strike rate of 183.33, Dinesh Karthik earned a recall for the T20I series against South Africa at home.

He didn’t disappoint against Proteas, smashing 92 runs in four innings at an average of 46 and a strike rate of 158.62. The 37-year-old was named the Player of the Match for his blazing 55 off 27 balls in the fourth T20I in Rajkot as India levelled the series 2-2.

Ravindra Jadeja

Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel might be another pacer for the team in the 1st T20I. The right-arm pacer played in the previous T20I series against England. Harshal Patel hunted 4 wickets in 3 games at an average of 23.25. He will aim for another good performance in the T20I series against West Indies.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be one of the pacers for India in the 1st T20I. The right-arm pacer gave a fabulous performance in the recent T20I series against England. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked 4 wickets in the series and also won the player of the series award.

The right-arm pacer grabbed the limelight in the India- South Africa T20I series by winning the player of the series award. The right-arm pacer picked 6 wickets in 4 innings. His X-factor was his economy rate, as he conceded runs at an economy of just 6.07.

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav might be a spinner for the team in the 1st T20I. The left-handed chinaman spinner has been out of the field for a long time due to injury. The spinner last played a T20I series against Sri Lanka in February this year. He went wicketless in the match.

Kuldeep Yadav was named in India’s squad for the South Africa T20Is but owing to an unknown injury, the left-arm spinner missed the five matches followed by the Ireland and England tour.

Kuldeep Yadav has played four games against West Indies and picked eight wickets at an average of 15.50 and an economy rate of 7.75. He will have to make use of the opportunity to enhance his chances of getting selected for the T20 World Cup squad Down Under.

The wrist-spinner last played for India against Sri Lanka in February and also made giant strides in the IPL 2022, picking 21 wickets in 14 games for Delhi Capitals at an economy rate of 8.43.

Arshdeep Singh

Arshdeep Singh was left out of the playing XI against West Indies in all three ODI matches. Notably, Arshdeep Singh took 2 wickets with an impressive economy rate of 5.14 against England, when he got the opportunity to bowl. Arshdeep Singh had a groin issue during the England ODIs but was benched after a solitary international appearance in the 1st T20I against En gland where he took 2/18 in 3.3 overs.