Windies hoping to revive WC hopes as India confirm tour

MUMBAI, India (CMC) – Embattled West Indies will seek to enhance their qualification fortunes for the 2019 Cricket World Cup when they clash with powerhouse India in a five-match series starting in the Caribbean next month.
The tour will run from June 23 to July 6, with the lone Twenty20 International scheduled for July 9, the Indian Cricket Board confirmed on Tuesday.
West Indies are currently ranked ninth in the International Cricket Council’s one-day rankings and are in danger of missing out on automatic qualification for the World Cup.
Hosts England and the other top seven sides in the rankings will book the automatic berths at the showpiece with the remaining teams having to enter a qualifier to determine the two last slots.
West Indies have done themselves no favours this year, whitewashed 3-0 by England last March and beaten 2-1 by Pakistan last month.
The Caribbean side will open the tour against India with two ODIs at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on June 23 and 25 before heading to the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium for the third and fourth matches on June 30 and July 2.
Sabina Park in Kingston will play host to the final ODI on July 6 and the only T20I three days later.
India, ranked number three in the world, are currently preparing for the Champions Trophy in England which runs from June 1-18.
West Indies will be missing from the tournament for the first time since its inception after they were ranked outside the top eight in the world at the cut-off date for qualification.