West Indies head coach Daren Sammy is looking to end his team's 24-year wait for a bilateral ODI series win in India when the sides face off in a three-match contest beginning September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram. The series will head to Guwahati on September 30 and conclude in New Chandigarh on October 3.

The India series comes at an important time for the Caribbean side, who are looking to qualify for the 2027 ODI World Cup qualifiers in February. West Indies missed out on automatic qualification after finishing 10th in the standings, with only the top eight teams besides co-hosts South Africa qualifying directly.

Daren Sammy sees India series as World Cup qualifier preparation for West Indies

Sammy feels the three-match series offers West Indies an opportunity to gauge their progress against one of the world's premier ODI sides, particularly in Indian conditions. A whitewash over the hosts would leave their qualification prospects unchanged, forcing the Caribbean side into the qualifiers for the third consecutive time.

“It's been 24 years, we've not won a series here in India. So it's a great opportunity for us as a team to come out here and challenge ourselves and measure up ourselves as to where we are in ODIs,” Sammy stated, according to ESPNcricinfo.

Adding to the former West Indies captain, beating India in their conditions would also provide an indication of where his team are at ahead of the qualifiers.

“If you have to win a major ICC event, especially in the white-ball format, you have to beat India. And we playing them here at home in their conditions and performing well and winning gives us a fair idea as to what we could do as a team and how capable we are in competing on the world stage,” Sammy said.

The West Indies started their qualification campaign 19 to 20 points back from the automatic qualification mark but have pared the deficit down to just six points as the campaign progressed. Sammy said the focus now is on fine-tuning the squad before the qualifiers to secure qualification to the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.

Vitel Lawes among West Indies' emerging talents

Sammy also pointed out the emergence of 19-year-old wristspinner Vitel Lawes, who made his ODI debut against New Zealand in July, taking eight wickets in five games as he has quickly become a key component of the West Indies' bowling plans.

“Vitel, to me, he's a find for us. What we saw in him that caused him to debut against New Zealand was all part of the planning and the processes we put in place,” Sammy stated.

The West Indies coach feels the young spinner still has room for growth and has praised the work he has done with ex-players Nikita Miller and Ravi Rampaul on the ongoing tour.

Sammy also pointed to the contributions of Shai Hope, Amir Jangoo, Sherfane Rutherford and Alzarri Joseph as signs of an evolving West Indies squad.

“Shai Hope is not the only one scoring hundreds.

Alzarri Joseph has also returned to form after helping Antigua win the CPL title. Ackeem Auguste, meanwhile, is unavailable as he recovers from surgery in August and has been replaced in the ODI squad by Jewel Andrew while a T20I squad will be announced when Shimron Hetmyer, who was granted extra recovery time after the CPL, joins the squad.

West Indies arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on 23 September after they departed on 21 September, with the opening ODI against India scheduled for 27 September.