West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has underlined that the upcoming three-match ODI series against India will serve as a crucial platform for them in their preparations for next year’s World Cup Qualifiers. India are a competitive side featuring a full-strength lineup, and Sammy sees this series as an important opportunity to measure the team’s development. 

The series will begin on September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram, followed by matches in Guwahati and Mullanpur on September 30 and October 3, respectively. Notably, West Indies have not won a bilateral ODI series in India since 2006, making this upcoming series highly crucial. 

"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. And I think it's a great opportunity for us, the players that we have, to come and put in a good show against India and look to win a series, something we've not done in 24 years,” Sammy said on Thursday.

West Indies have not been able to secure automatic qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup and will participate in the qualification tournament next year. And this series against India will give them an Idea about their preparation. 

"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. Heading into the qualifiers in February, you know, that is our No. 1 focus - continuing to fine-tune the team so that when we go to the qualifiers, we put ourselves in a position to book our ticket to South Africa," he said.