India focus on World Cup preparation with West Indies series

India begin their three-match ODI series against West Indies on Sunday at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, the first assignment in what bowling coach Morne Morkel calls the start of the team's build-up to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.

With the tournament a little over a year away, Morkel feels that India need to maintain their standards in the format.

"Whoever walks onto the field now, up to the World Cup, needs to know that there is a certain standard we need to achieve. I want these players to put themselves under as much pressure," he said. 

"You can't decide a month or a week before the tournament that we're going to step things up. It starts now with this series against the West Indies."

India have lost two of their last three ODI series and will be looking to gather momentum heading into next year's World Cup, where they will aim to lift a third World Cup title, having missed out in the final in 2023.

Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, Morkel said the coaching staff have used the past year to test fringe bowlers in different roles, and plan to keep doing so through this series and India's tour of New Zealand later in the year.

"I think if you look at the last year, we've been trying to give guys some game time and see in different roles how they react. It will be the same now leading into the series and looking at New Zealand," he said.

"To give guys opportunity with the ball in hand. I think it's very important for these guys (Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar) to get the game time, to get a feel of the standard that we're looking to play. 

"I think in this series there will definitely be opportunities given to guys to see what they can do in their different roles."

Morkel wants the players pair the opportunity on offer with an appetite for pressure.

"We've challenged the bowlers when conditions are tough, or there are certain partnerships that are developing. I want to see guys asking for the ball and wanting to create those opportunities and not be sort of protecting their own space," he said.

"If we are maybe 30/4, who's going to get that partnership and get us a hundred? If we can throw ourselves into certain situations and guys can figure out ways to play that situation, there will be growth, and that will help us down the line."

On the workload picture, Morkel confirmed the team is managing the return of Harshit Rana and other frontline bowlers alongside the medical staff.

"We have got Harshit and all those guys who are still on the sidelines. We're excited to get them back and get them playing and get them fit again," he said. 

"It is frustrating. Obviously, you want to have your strongest and condition-wise the best 11 on the field. But certainly it's part of the game, luckily, we've got a fantastic back-up in the wings.

"It's a great opportunity, again, for guys to go and play a game for India, to make a name for themselves and to compete."

Asked about all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, Morkel pointed to his form in India's recent T20Is.

"The way he bowled in different situations has been very impressive. The message to him all the time is just to keep things simple and do the basics as well as possible," he said.

"He always wants to be the guy who wants to create opportunities, and having that mindset is fantastic. It will be great for Indian cricket if we can keep on developing him and for him to compete for that all-rounder spot."

Series schedule

1st ODI - 27 September, Thiruvananthapuram 

2nd ODI - 30 September, Guwahati

3rd ODI - 3 October, New Chandigarh

1st T20I - 6 October, Lucknow

2nd T20I - 9 October, Ranchi

3rd T20I - 11 October, Indore

4th T20I - 14 October, Hyderabad

5th T20I - 17 October, Bengaluru