Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja are set to start together again in India’s playing XI for the first ODI against West Indies. The match begins at 2pm IST on Sunday, September 27, at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram.
Jadeja returns for his first ODI in eight months, and seamer Auqib Nabi is in line for his debut. Shubman Gill leads a side without Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Ishan Kishan, who are at the Asian Games, and Hardik Pandya, who is unfit.
The team sheet says Jadeja is back. It does not say how different his job becomes on a pitch that suits pace, or why the first spell after months away is the hardest one to bowl.
India Probable Playing XI vs West Indies
| No. | Player | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shubman Gill (c) | Opener |
| 2 | Rohit Sharma | Opener |
| 3 | Virat Kohli | Top order |
| 4 | Ruturaj Gaikwad | Middle order |
| 5 | KL Rahul (wk) | Middle order |
| 6 | Nitish Kumar Reddy | Seam all-rounder |
| 7 | Ravindra Jadeja | Spin all-rounder |
| 8 | Auqib Nabi | Seamer (debut) |
| 9 | Kuldeep Yadav | Wrist spinner |
| 10 | Mohammed Siraj | Seamer |
| 11 | Prasidh Krishna | Seamer |
Gill was hit on the right elbow by a Siraj delivery in the nets on September 25. He received treatment and returned to face throwdowns, but his fitness has not been officially confirmed.
With Iyer away, No. 4 is open, and Ruturaj Gaikwad is likely to get it ahead of Yashasvi Jaiswal. With Hardik out, Nitish carries the seam all-rounder role, while Nabi, Siraj and Prasidh share the new ball.
🚨 News 🚨#TeamIndia ODI & T20I squads announced for West Indies tour of India 2026, along with updated squad for Japan T20I & Asian Games.
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— BCCI (@BCCI) September 16, 2026
Head coach Gautam Gambhir admitted before the series that these calls are not easy.
“Leaving out anyone in Indian cricket from the playing eleven is always going to be tough. But when you have to do that as a young captain, it is probably the toughest job for any coach and captain to do it.”
Gautam Gambhir, ahead of the West Indies series, September 23, 2026
Rohit and Kohli last played for India at Lord’s on July 19. Rohit made 138 and Kohli 74, but England won by 27 runs and took the series 2-1. Both now play only ODIs, and Gambhir sees their value beyond runs.
“In ODIs, he (Gill) is very fortunate that he has got the likes of Rohit and Virat to help him on and off the field.”
Gautam Gambhir, ahead of the West Indies series, September 23, 2026
Jadeja’s last ODI came against New Zealand in January, in a series India lost 2-1. Selectors then left him out of the England tour, with chief selector Ajit Agarkar saying they wanted to give newer players exposure ahead of the 2027 World Cup in South Africa. With Axar at the Asian Games, the role is Jadeja’s again.
Insider Read
A finger spinner can build a spell over twenty overs in a Test, but an ODI gives him ten, split into three or four spells that each have to land from the first ball. After eight months away from the format, the skill is still there. The hard part is finding that length inside two overs, before one loose ball hands the batter a boundary and the field has to spread.
Greenfield suits pace, so India do not need Jadeja to bowl West Indies out. They need him to hold one end through the middle overs while Kuldeep attacks from the other: quick overs, the arm ball into the stumps, no width. Add the runs he saves at backward point, and his ten overs will be worth more than his figures show.
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