Having already sealed the series with their 44 run victory in the second ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, India will aim for a series sweep during the final game on Friday.
However, the Indians will also be keen to deploy a few of their reserve players with an eye on next year's 50 overs World Cup.
Having recovered from COVID-19, Shikhar Dhawan is set to return as the opener after Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant failed in the first two games, while Shreyas Iyer could also get a game.
It remains to be seen who makes way for Dhawan as the only option left for the team management is Deepak Hooda, who has impressed in the first two games with good knocks under pressure.
Virat Kohli's form has not been up to the mark in the last year or so and the team management could do well to ask him to take a break ahead of the T20I series, while giving a deserved young player a chance at the highest level.
Kohli has scored just 26 runs in the first two ODIs against the West Indies. In the South Africa series he managed 116 runs at a strike rate of 76. He has now gone nearly two-and-a-half years without a century, having last scored a hundred in the third ODI against the West Indies in Port of Spain in August 2019.
With the series already decided, someone like Shreyas Iyer or Ishan Kishan could get a rare chance to impress at the highest level.
'We don't mind losing a few games trying out a few things because it is important to look at the long term goals. We will see what works out well for the team combination,' Captain Rohit Sharma had said after the second ODI.
With the West Indies struggling against spin, the exciting wrist spin duo of Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav could come into the playing XI for the final game.
The West Indies batters have failed to get the better of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who has claimed six wickets in the first two games at an economy rate of 4.73.
Deepak Chahar -- another player who deserves to be in the team -- was not considered for the first two games despite his good showing with both bat and ball in his last two ODIs.
India could also be tempted to try out Tamil Nadu's explosive batter Shahrukh Khan, who has been in great form in domestic cricket.
Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli/Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, K L Rahul (vice-captain), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the third ODI against the West Indies? Please pick your choices from the list and kindly post your team in the message board below:
