West Indies head coach Daren Sammy believes the upcoming three-match ODI series against India will provide his team with a valuable opportunity to test themselves against the world’s No. 1 side and end their 24-year wait to get the taste of success on Indian soil. The three ODIs will be played in Thiruvananthapuram on September 27, Guwahati on September 30, and New Chandigarh on October 3.
West Indies have made progress during the ODI qualification cycle but fell six points short of automatic qualification. They will have to take part in the qualifiers next year. Sammy highlighted the progress made by the batting unit, with Shai Hope and Keacy Carty forming an important partnership, while other players have also contributed with hundreds. “Our batting has come a long way during this period. Shai Hope is not the only one scoring hundreds. The coach also pointed to the return of Alzarri Joseph, who was part of Antigua’s CPL title-winning campaign, while young players including Jewel Andrew are set to get opportunities. “Everybody will be getting an opportunity. Jewel Andrew replaces Ackeem Auguste, who is recovering after surgery, while Shimron Hetmyer has been rested from the ODI leg and will join the team for the T20Is.
Because after that, I think this is probably our last ODI series. The West Indies ODI squad, led by Hope, includes John Campbell, who returns after missing the final two ODIs against New Zealand due to a hamstring injury.
Sammy said the team had come a long way from being significantly behind in the standings. “Starting from where we were back then, which was, I think, 19 or 20 points behind, and accumulating those points, I thought we made a lot of strides in making a claim to automatic qualification,” he said. We’ve gotten hundreds from different players,” he said. It is our last ODI series of the year,” Sammy said.
