With the 2019 World Cup in sight, India’s preparations will be well underway when they take on Windies in a full-fledged five-match ODI series starting October 21 in Guwahati.

Windies, on the other hand, will hope to put up a better show and give India a fight after succumbing to a 2-0 defeat in the Test series.

Before the limited over leg begins, we take a look at what both teams have on offer.

From the Indian dressing room:

India have continued their new tradition of announcing the XII a day in advance. Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan return to the top after their victorious Asia Cup campaign while Virat Kohli will lead the side and bat at his number three position.

Kohli was rested for the Asia Cup where Rohit Sharma led India to the title. There will also be a small contest brewing up between Rohit and Kohli for the number one ODI spot during this entire series.

Ambati Rayudu is most likely to take the number four position while Rishabh Pant will be in line for his ODI debut. MS Dhoni, after a dismal outing with the bat in the Asia Cup, will want to get some runs under his belt, especially with someone like a Pant making his impact more prominent.

Pandya and Jadhav’s absence because of their injuries will see Ravindra Jadeja get an extended run. India’s spin-twins Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will play a crucial part in the middle overs but the real test will be in the seam bowling department where India will take the field sans Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

The onus to pick wickets with the new ball will fall on the shoulders of Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav. India have also named Syed Khaleel Ahmed in their XII.

From the Windies dressing room:

Windies start the ODI series with two of their first choice openers Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle making themselves unavailable for the series. Kieran Powell will see this as an opportunity to make a case at the top of the order while the visitors will be heavily relying on their number three Shai Hope and their seasoned campaigner Marlon Samuels to score runs in the middle.

The likes of Sunil Ambris and Shimron Hetymer will aim to rectify their mistakes from the Test series and start afresh. Ambris has played just one ODI where he remained unbeaten on 38 against England back in 2017.

Hetymer on the other end has been a regular in the ODI setup but needs big scores to establish himself. All eyes will be on Rovman Powell, who can hit the long ball batting down the order and with the able support of Jason Holder, the Windies seem to have power and depth in their batting.

If their top-order is able to manoeuvre spin well, Windies will fancy their chances of scoring big on a batting friendly Guwahati track.

As far as their bowling is concerned, the right-arm off break of Ashley Nurse and Devendra Bishoo’s wrist spin will be crucial to their success. Fabian Allen can also chip in with his slow left-arm spin.

The experienced Kemar Roach will have the support of Alzarri Joseph and Keemo Paul apart from skipper Holder to hold the pace bowling mantle. If they play two or three seamers will be a question. The 21-year-old uncapped right arm pacer Oshane Thomas has been talked about and will be their player to watch out for if he gets a chance.

Overall, India will look to repeat their Test series performance and aim for another clean sweep against an inexperienced Windies side.

The first ODI will be played in Guwahati on October 21 starting 1.30 PM IST.