Lara will play only if fully fit

West Indies captain Brian Lara is unlikely to play against India in the crucial Champions Trophy encounter at the Sardar Patel stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Thursday.

"I am feeling better than the last five-six days but I am not yet sure for tomorrow's match," said Lara, who suffered from back spasms while batting against Australia last week.

"The final decision will be taken tomorrow. Of course, I would love to make it out there," he added.

Lara said he was not completely comfortable during the work-out and knock he had the earlier day and would not run the risk of playing without being 100 per cent fit.

"The strenuous session I had yesterday [Tuesday] was very difficult; things didn't look too good. I will try and bat as much as I can today but it's difficult to go full out."

The West Indies hasn't had a full squad to choose from, with Corey Collymore flying home before the start of the tournament and Shivnarine Chanderpaul suffering from food poisoning during the Australia game. A stomach bug also kept coach Bennett King out of Wednesday's net session.

"It is a little frustrating. The rest of the guys have stepped up well; it shows that we have depth in the team. They have filled in the gaps well, but at the end of the day you would still like a full squad of 14 to choose from."

The left-handed Chanderpaul has recovered fully and will be back in action against India.

In the absence of Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan will don the mantle of captaincy. The 26-year-old did a superb job against Australia, making some instinctive changes as the West Indies won by 10-runs.