India vs West Indies: Rohit Sharma to lead India in 1000th ODI

Rohit Sharma starts his full-time ODI tenure on Sunday as his team play the West Indies in their 1,000th one-day international, the first side ever to reach the milestone. The encounter at the world's biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad is the first of a three-match series but will be played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic. India passed 500,000 deaths from the virus on Friday, although infection rates in the current Omicron outbreak have slowed in recent days.

"I was the captain of India in the 500th ODI," India's cricket chief Sourav Ganguly told Indian magazine Sportstar -- a 2002 game against England in Chester-le-Street. "It is a big moment for Indian cricket, but unfortunately, the match will be played without a crowd." The hosts have been hit by the virus themselves with four players including Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad being isolated after testing positive. Mayank Agarwal has been added to the squad and will be a candidate to open the batting alongside Rohit, although vice-captain K.L.

Rahul remains a possibility. The 34-year-old Rohit, who took over the Twenty20 and then ODI captaincy from Virat Kohli, was ruled out of India's tour of South Africa by a hamstring injury, when the visitors lost the Test series 2-1 and were whitewashed 3-0 in ODIs. He is leading the one-day side in a year that will see the T20 World Cup in Australia, and is favourite to be named Test captain as well.