[In pictures] India begin preparations for ODI series vs West Indies

India have kickstarted their preparations for the upcoming limited-overs series against West Indies, starting February 6 (Sunday) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

The contingent underwent a mandatory three-day quarantine having assembled on January 31. After completing their hard quarantine, Rohit Sharma & Co. have begun their training.

This will be Rohit Sharma's first assignment as full-time ODI captain. The BCCI shared a couple of pictures from the first training session, captioning the post as:

"#TeamIndia begin preps in Ahmedabad ahead of the ODI series against West Indies."

Rohit Sharma, who returns to action after missing the entire South Africa series, took charge of the side and was seen having a chat with the cricketers.

Former captain Virat Kohli and wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant were spotted having a laugh.

The Men in Blue, who lost their last ODI assignment against South Africa, will look to bounce back against West Indies as they aim to find the right template ahead of the ODI World Cup at home next year.

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India add Mayank Agarwal to the ODI squad

Opener Mayank Agarwal has been added to the ODI squad in the wake of a couple of COVID-19 cases in the camp, as confirmed by the BCCI.

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has added Mayank Agarwal to India’s ODI squad after seven members, including three players of Team India (Senior Men), tested positive for COVID-19 following three rounds of RT-PCR testing," the cricket board said in a statement.

The 30-year-old cricketer from Karnataka has only featured in five ODIs to date, aggregating 86 runs at an average of 17.20 with a best score of 32. Mayank is expected to open the innings alongside captain Rohit Sharma in the absence of regular openers.

Meanwhile, openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad have tested positive along with middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer. Apart from the three, reserve fast bowler Navdeep Saini, fielding coach T. Dilip, security liaison officer B. Lokesh and sports massage therapist Rajeev Kumar have also contracted the deadly virus.

The Sourav Ganguly-led body assured that the BCCI medical team is “handling the positive cases and they will remain in isolation till complete recovery is attained”.

The three-match ODI series will be played on February 6, 9 and 11 before the contingent moves to Kolkata for the three-match T20Is.

The ODIs will be played behind closed doors owing to the continued threat of COVID-19, while the T20Is might see 75% attendance in the stands.