West Indies, India face off in opening One-Day
Published:Monday | November 28, 2011 | 5:56 PM
West Indies cricketers had their final training session earlier today in preparation for the opening One-Day International against hosts India in Cuttack.
The opening match, a day/night contest, bowls off in Cuttack tomorrow morning at 4 o’clock Jamaica time.
For the series, West Indies selectors have axed leg spinner Devendra Bishoo from the 15-man squad. Uncapped right-handed batsman Jason Mohammed and leg-spinner Sunil Narine were named in the squad.
Fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who played in the Test series which West Indies lost 2-0, was also left out of the Darren Sammy-captained side.
India, India with be without their biggest crowd-pullers – MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar.
In addition, India have lost the most experienced bowler in their squad, Praveen Kumar.
He has been ruled out of the first three one-dayers with an injury. That means the most seasoned of the fast bowlers is Vinay Kumar, giving the stand-in captain Virender Sehwag something of a challenge.
India are also missing Yuvraj Singh, giving the likes of Rohit Sharma an audition for a permanent place in the hugely competitive middle order.
Despite India facing these hurdles, Darren Sammy says West Indies will still face a huge task.
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