India's preparations for their one-day series against West Indies suffered a setback as rain washed out their workout ahead of the first match starting at Sabina Park here on Saturday. The weather is likely to affect the first one-dayer as it has been raining since India suffered a 155-run defeat at the hands of West Indies in the fifth Test to lose a five-match series 2-1 on Wednesday.

The second one-dayer will be held at the same venue on Sunday, followed by matches at Bridgetown on May 29 and at Port-of-Spain on June 1 and 2.

India will be looking forward to a vastly-improved performance from their batsmen in the shorter version of the game so as to return home in a better frame of mind.

"We've got to salvage our pride. We've lost the Test series and we should now try to win the one-dayers," said Sourav Ganguly.

The arrival of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Ajit Agarkar augurs well for India, who could do with some fresh legs on the field after five gruelling Tests.

Ganguly said his team would have to raise the level of its performance to win the one-day series because the West Indies were a strong side at home.

"We've a good one-day squad, but winning the series is a different ball-game altogether," said Ganguly. "Sehwag is an exciting batsman. Yuvraj is very good and Kaif has also been performing, but we'll have to play really well to beat the West Indies at home."

Sehwag returned to the squad after missing a series of five one-day internationals against Zimbabwe at home due to a shoulder-injury sustained during the second Test against the visitors at Delhi in March.

Yuvraj and Dinesh Mongia are the other batsmen capable of dominating any attack with their clean and hard hitting. Mongia did not get a chance in Tests, but is likely to play a prominent role in one-dayers, especially after his unbeaten 159 in his last match against Zimbabwe at home.

His knock, the fourth-highest by an Indian in one-day internationals, helped India clinch the five-match series 3-2 against Stuart Carlisle's Zimbabweans.

Kaif is unlikely to find a place in the squad here despite averaging 41.50 in eight matches, as middle-order batsmen VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid have batted well in the Tests. Dravid is also likely to keep wickets, to lend balance to the team.

West Indies captain Carl Hooper said his team could not afford to be complacent after beating India in the Test series as it was necessary to build on the success. West Indies also strengthened their squad with one-day specialists Corey Collymore and Gareth Breese, who replaced fast bowler Adam Sanford and leg-spinner Dinanath Ramnarine.

Squads
West Indies Carl Hooper (capt), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Brian Lara, Shivranrine Chanderpaul, Ridley Jacobs (wk), Mervyn Dillon, Cameron Cuffy, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Gareth Breese, Ryan Hinds.

India Sourav Ganguly (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid (wk), Virender Sehwag, Dinesh Mongia, Venkatsai Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Ajay Ratra (wk), Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Tinu Yohannan, Murali Kartik.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd