India starts favourite in Windies T20Is

TAROUBA (PORT OF SPAIN): A full-strength India team will fancy its chances against the West Indies in the five-match T20I series that begins here on Friday.

With less than three months left for the T20 World Cup in Australia, skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid will get around 16 matches (5 vs West Indies, 5 in Asia Cup if India plays the final, 3 vs Australia and 3 vs South Africa) to firm up the core. The preceding England series showed that India’s white-ball players have an imposing alpha-male like presence out there in the middle even if Virat Kohli is not at his best.

Meanwhile, West Indies, boasting T20 specialists and hard hitters, is likely to go with the same team – featuring Brandon King, Kyle Mayers and Rovman Powell among others – that beat Bangladesh 2-0 in the three-match series at home earlier this month. The likes of Mayers and skipper Nicholas Pooran are in good form with the bat, and that could give West Indies the right amount of confidence heading into the series.