Are India sure of Jasprit Bumrah’s support cast?

was a part of India’s gold-medal winning Asian Games squad. As a result, he missed out on the three-match ODI series against the West Indies, which ran parallel to the Games. While it is certain that a Bumrah will lead the Indian attack in next year’s World Cup in South Africa, his pace support seems uncertain.

India handed the new ball to Nitish Kumar Reddy in the first ODI alongside Prasidh Krishna, with Gurnoor Brar bowling first change. Prasidh and Brar can both extract steep bounce, but on a flat pitch they conceded 165 in 25 overs and picked up three wickets. For the second game, they benched Reddy and handed a debut to Auqib Nabi, whose 8.5 overs went for 84 wicketless runs.

For the last game, India then drafted in the experienced Mohammed Siraj and debutant Anshul Kamboj alongside Brar, who was the only pacer to play all three ODIs. While Siraj bagged a wicket, Kamboj went for 82 runs off nine overs and did not impress at the death.

As Mohammed Shami, India’s 2023 World Cup hero, waits for clarity, it is not very clear who India’s pace attack will be at the World Cup. The West Indies series certainly did not answer that question.

Amir Jangoo’s rise in the middle-order

, who had scored a blistering century on ODI debut in December 2024, crossed fifty in each of the three ODIs here. These included a 77-ball 114. He holds the second-best ODI average (42.28) for any West Indian middle-order batter since the start of 2025.

Come the ODI World Cup qualifiers next year, Jangoo will be one of the prime candidates for a spot in the middle-order. Strong square of the wicket, he is also capable of big hits, a skill which was on display in the second ODI against India in Guwahati.

Are the flat wickets an ideal preparation for mission 2027?

Over 2,000 runs were scored across the three ODIs, where neither team was bowled out even once. There were from both sides, but one cannot help but ask whether matches on such flat wickets will be useful while preparing for the coveted event in South Africa next year.

Pitches in South Africa typically offer more lateral movement and bounce than their Indian counterparts. If that pattern continues, run-scoring will not be as easy.

Notably, 16 of the 30 innings played on Indian soil since the 2023 ODI World Cup have been in excess of 300. The corresponding number for South Africa reads five out of 18.

Shai Hope ascends to the pantheon of all-time ODI greats

The West Indies will their skipper continues his prolific form into the qualifiers of the World Cup. After being dismissed for 12 in the first ODI, Hope came back with scores of 104 and an astonishing 162 not out in the next two, showcasing his ability to take the game on at any given time. The hundreds took him past Brian Lara’s tally: among West Indians, only Chris Gayle has more ODI centuries.

After his heroics in the third ODI, he expressed how a simple conversation with MS Dhoni helped him shape his game further. He always had the ability to anchor innings, but over the past few years he has upped the ante to be called amongst the greats in the format.

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