India to take on West Indies in first T20 today

Hyderabad: India will take on West Indies in the first T20 international of the three-match series at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here this evening. The match will start at 7 PM (IST).

India are scheduled to play three T20Is and as many ODIs against West Indies in a month-long tour for the visitors.

For India, the opening slot is wide open following the ouster of  Shikhar Dhawan in the squad. It’s an opportunity for KL Rahul to cement his spot at the top alongside Rohit Sharma.

Though skipper Kohli has been in prolific touch, the middle order is a concern for men-in-blue, particularly in batting first.

Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey and Rishabh Pant need to prove their skills as the team eyes to  the World T20 in Australia, scheduled to be held in October 2020.

The bowling department sees the return of Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

West Indies, on the other hand, would be looking for revenge after being dismantled by India 3-0 in their own backyard in August.

Today, the North Stand of Rajiv Gandhi stadium will be named after former India skipper and current Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) President Mohammad Azharuddin, and will most likely be inaugurated by legendary Sunil Gavaskar.

Squads for T20Is:

India: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

West Indies: Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Kieron Pollard (c), Nicholas Pooran, Denesh Ramdin, Sherfane Rutherford, Lendl Simmons, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams.

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