Five Indian players to watch out for in the ODI series against West Indies

After humiliating West Indies in the two-match Test series, India will host the men from the Caribbean islands in a five-match ODI series that gets underway in Guwahati on October 21.

The Indian selectors have named a strong 14-member squad that does not have the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the pace bowling duo has been given some much-needed rest ahead of the upcoming assignments.

The series is a huge opportunity for a few Indian players to regain their form or cement their place in the squad for the 2019 World Cup.

Let us take a look at five players for whom this five-match ODI series will be crucial.

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Rishabh Pant

Without a doubt, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is destined for greatness as he has all the qualities that are needed to be successful for an international cricketer. Although he was drafted into the T20 side in 2017, he was not given enough opportunities to prove himself and was subsequently dropped from the side. He had a great 2018 IPL and he followed it up with a successful series for India A in England.

He was called into the Indian Test side in England and made his debut in the third Test. He hit a six off the second ball he faced in the whites and since then, there has been no turning back for him as he scored a fantastic century in the fifth Test and followed it up with 92 and 92 against West Indies.

His recent performances helped him earn a call-up to the ODI side and unlike the previous instances, he is likely to make his debut this time. With MS Dhoni struggling to do well with the bat and the Indian middle-order looking fragile, all eyes will be on Pant to grab this chance and cement his place in the Indian middle order.

He is expected to make his debut in Guwahati on Sunday and he will be looking to continue his fine form in ODIs as well.

Khaleel Ahmed

The search for a left-arm seamer has been answered

Over the last three-four years, the Indian team has found a lot of fast bowlers capable of winning matches for the team on ttheir own. With the emergence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah as the new ball bowlers, the likes of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav etc. were pushed back in the line and are facing some competition from the likes of Siddharth Kaul and Mohammed Siraj.

Without a doubt, these are good signs for Indian cricket. But, one thing that should be bothering them is the absence of a left-arm seamer. With three right-arm quicks in the XI, the attack becomes very one dimensional and with Khaleel Ahmed getting a call-up to the side and doing well in the two games he has played so far, the search of a left-arm quick has come to an end.

He is likely to play the first match and a good performance from him in the series will put him in pole position for a place in the Indian XI for the World Cup.

Ambati Rayudu

Rayudu will look to seal his place in the XI

The Indian top-3 of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have done the majority of the work with the bat in ODIs and thanks to their consistent performances, the vulnerability of the Indian middle-order has been slightly covered. Still, the middle-order is getting exposed whenever the top three fails as a unit.

The selectors are trying out every name possible to address the concern and now, they have turned to Ambati Rayudu in a bid to fix the problem. The right-hander got back into the mix after a successful IPL campaign for CSK and had a good Asia Cup for India batting at number 3.

The team management will hope for Rayudu, who is expected to bat at number 4 in the series against the West Indies, to grab his chance and make the spot his own in the upcoming days.

Ravindra Jadeja

He is back with a bang!

After a disastrous 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, Ravindra Jadeja was shown the door from the Indian ODI side as the team management decided to field two wrist spinners in the XI. Both Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have been doing a fantastic job for India and made life difficult for Jadeja and R Ashwin to make a comeback to the side.

After doing well with both bat and ball in the fifth Test against England, Jadeja got a lifeline as he was called in as a replacement for the injured Hardik Pandya in the Asia Cup. He made a comeback by putting on a Man of the Match-winning performance against Bangladesh in his return game and did well with both bat and ball in the subsequent matches.

He has been retained for the upcoming series against West Indies and a good outing for him in the five matches will see him seal his place in the World Cup squad as the third spinner.

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni has been a pale shadow of his usual self of late

Over the last year or so, MS Dhoni's performances with the bat would have given the team management some headaches. With the former Indian skipper stubborn enough to continue playing in spite of losing his touch with the bat, which was clearly visible, it is high time that he starts contributing again.

He is struggling to get going as he takes a lot of time to settle and by the time he is settled, the scoring rate of the team has taken a hit. If he continues to bat the way he has been batting of late, it will give the Indian fans a lot of nightmares going into the World Cup.

Adding to that, he has refused to play for Jharkhand in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. It was the perfect platform for him to regain his lost touch but the 37-year-old has decided against it. Now, all eyes will be on him to prove his critics wrong by scoring some runs with the bat and contributing towards the team's success.