West Indies head coach Daren Sammy views the upcoming three-match ODI series against India as a vital benchmark to test his team's growth and fine-tune combinations ahead of the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup Qualifiers. Challenging the Best: Sammy emphasized that testing the squad against top-ranked India in their home conditions serves as the ultimate yardstick to measure the team's true capabilities on the international stage. Ending a 24-Year Drought: The series presents West Indies with an opportunity to rewrite history and claim their first bilateral ODI series victory on Indian soil since 2002. Road to 2027 WC Qualifiers: Having missed out on automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup by a narrow margin, Sammy noted that using this series to refine execution and assess squad depth remains the primary objective before heading into February's qualification tournament. Shared Batting Responsibility: Sammy highlighted positive growth in the batting unit, noting that the team is no longer solely reliant on captain Shai Hope, with players like Amir Jangoo and Sherfane Rutherford stepping up with key scores. Developing Young Talent: The coach praised the early impact of 19-year-old wrist-spinner Vitel Lawes and reaffirmed the management's commitment to giving emerging players opportunities during the tour. Tour Schedule 1st ODI: September 27 — Thiruvananthapuram 2nd ODI: September 30 — Guwahati 3rd ODI: October 3 — New Chandigarh