Far from adding to the Indians’ fatigue, the four-match one-day series against the West Indies  will help Mahendra Singh Dhoni  and his men “kill the demons” of their Twenty20 World Cup debacle, feels former pacer and ICC match referee Javagal Srinath.

“It’s good India are playing a series as soon as this after their debacle in the World Twenty20,” Srinath said.

“It will help them kill the demons, especially those raised by the media. This has been such a good team in recent times. They had set such a high standard; they haven’t lost many ODI series. They stumbled a bit in the World Twenty20 but I am not going to make a big deal of it. I am sure they will do well. On paper, India should win,” he said.

Defending champion India’s T20 World Cup campaign ended on a sordid note after they failed to enter the semifinals, losing all their Super-Eight stage matches.

And the short Caribbean series comes after months of almost non-stop cricket for the Indians with skipper Dhoni admitting his team is a tired unit.

Srinath was of the view that the series will provide pacer Ishant Sharma  the perfect opportunity to amends for his poor show in both the second Indian Premier League  and in the Twenty20 World Cup.

“Ishant will be the leader of the pack in Zaheer’s absence. Yes, he didn’t have a great time in the IPL and in the World Twenty20 but this is a great platform for him to make amends.

“And look, he has not done well only in terms of the huge expectations of him. This is 50-over cricket now and I expect him to do well. He will be better off for having played in the IPL and the World Twenty20, more aware of the areas to improve,” he said.

The former India fast bowler said the hosts would feel the absence of Fidel Edwards, the pacer whose short-pitched deliveries unsettled the Indians during their Twenty20 World Cup encounter.

“The pitches and the absence of Fidel Edwards will be handicaps and it might not work but won’t deter them from trying it,” Srinath told Cricinfo.

With the Twenty20 World Cup debacle still fresh on their mind, a wounded India will be desperate to avenge their recent defeat against the West Indies when the four-match ODI series gets underway from Friday. A tired Indian team, who suffered a seven-wicket thrashing at the hands of Christ Gayle’s men in T20 World Cup in England, has now regrouped for the 50-over format after a nine-day break from competitive cricket.

The squad is sans big-wigs like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan, who are nursing various injuries, but promises to put up a goos show against the hosts with the return of pacer Ashish Nehra and some new talents.

The Indian team is packed with all rounders in Yusuf Pathan and Ravindra Jadeja besides the likes of star batsmen Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma.

Their bowling department, as admitted by West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan, will be the main concern for the home side, especially the spinners.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who has vowed to bring cheer back to the Indian fans, has already made it clear to the opposition that his team was not short on confidence and had the wherewithal to challenge the West Indies.

“When it comes to playing for your country you don’t really need motivation to go out and perform,” Dhoni had said on arrival in the Caribbean.

He also warned the hosts against relying on the Twenty20 form, saying the 50-over format was altogether a different ball game.

“The West Indies is playing good cricket at the moment. They had a very good (World) 20/20 tournament, but in the 50 overs, you have time to settle down,” he said.

Dhoni believes consistency would be the key to success in the series, which begins at the slow Sabina Park track. “The team that plays consistent cricket over the series will come out as winners. We have to play consistent cricket and I think that will be the key for us,” Dhoni said.

Dhoni’s men, ranked third in the ICC’s ODI team rankings, would also take the opportunity to climb up the ladder ahead of Australia and inch closer to table toppers South Africa, especially in the backdrop of their successful last ODI series against New Zealand in March.

The West Indies, seemingly resurgent following their semifinal berth in the T20 World Cup, are not taking the Indians lightly though. Chris Gayle and Co had lost their last series in England.

“India is always a good One Day team and they will be looking to beat us based on their Twenty20 disappointment. Sehwag and Tendulkar are two world class players but they still have quality players to step up and they have a lot of experience in one-day cricket,” Gayle said.

“They still have quality players in Yuvraj, Harbhajan Singh, Dhoni, (Ishant) Sharma and a lot of guys to give us a lot of trouble,” he added.

Irrespective of their recent Super Eight match win over India in the Twenty20 World Cup in England, the West Indies apprehend that the Indians will be “a handful in the Caribbean”.

The hosts are also aware that they have to click as a unit despite all the experience and the talent in their armoury.

“We’ve got experience within experience and hopefully we’ll come together as a unit,” said senior batsman Sarwan, adding that “I think the key when we play India is to try and work the ball as much as we can.”

However, their coach John Dyson has tried to use pressure tactics on the visitors by saying the hosts will play aggressive brand of cricket.

“We will play aggressive cricket, we will play to win as always, and we will aim for consistency. We always try and determine who the key players are for the opposition and think of ways that we may combat those key players,” he said.

India and their opponents settle back down to the bump and grind of 50 overs-a-side matches, following a heavy diet of Twenty20 cricket for several of the players in the form of the second edition of the Indian Premier League in South Africa and the World Twenty20 in England.  But it’s the World Twenty20 which is still fresh on the minds of the Indians.They entered the competition as defending champions, and finished empty-handed, much to the chagrin of their legions of supporters at home and around the world.They were humiliated, when they exited the competition following three defeats in the Super Eight stage, including a seven-wicket loss to the west indies Tiredness and injuries were some of the factors advanced for India’s demise, but they have had close to two weeks to relax and recharge the batteries.  Against this backdrop, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has asked his players to come forward and be truthful about their fitness ahead of the series.
“For me, it’s the team first and then the individuals and I’d hope it’s the same with everyone else in the group,” Dhoni said.  “If rest is the cure for an injury, a cricketer ought to opt for it rather than let fatigue or niggles become a major setback to him and to the team.
“If anyone wants to take a break from the game, they should let me know or the BCCI.”

India have also had time to beef-up their personnel for the four-match series to mitigate against the injuries which have robbed them of star batting duo Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, the latter of whom was sorely missed in the World Twenty20, plus Zaheer Khan and Suresh Raina. However, the new recruits have encountered a few difficulties with getting visas to travel through Britain. Now ranked as the third-best ODI side in the World, India will see this as a chance to leapfrog Australia, and take aim at chart-toppers South Africa, setting the stage for another invigorating series. India hasn’t played an ODI series since they prevailed in New Zealand in March, but they have lost only three of their last 18 matches, and have emerged as one of strongest ODI sides over the last year. But they face a west indies  side with their own demons to exorcise, following a miserable Test and ODI series against England. The home team, however, marginally redeemed themselves with a semi-final place in the World Twenty20 in which they beat england to reach the final four.  They enter the series however, as strangers in their own land, since India have been in the Jamaica capital getting down to business since last Friday, and the West Indies players – including a few fresh faces – only started arriving on Tuesday.  West Indies coach John Dyson will instruct his side to play aggressive cricket to push the Indians to the limit.

“We will play aggressive cricket, we will play to win as always, and we will aim for consistency,” said Dyson.

“We always look at the opposition and try and determine who the key players are for the opposition and think of ways that we may combat those key players.

“What we don’t know, of course, is from the lower-profile players, how they are going to perform and perform consistently throughout a series. So that’s something we have to monitor as the series progresses.

“(Winning) – it depends on the sort of pitches we’re playing on, the conditions of the day, and the form of our own players, and the opposition players.”

The short ODI series against India is part of a busy home programme for West Indies, who also host Bangladesh for two Tests, three ODIs and a T20 International in July and August.

Squads:

West Indies: Chris Gayle (capt), Denesh Ramdin, Lionel Baker, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard Jr, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Runako Morton, Ravi Rampaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath, Rudra Pratap Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik.

QnA:  Can India win under arrogant Dhoni?