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Brandon Moyo
THE Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a youthful 15-member squad for their tour of Zimbabwe early next month.
India are set to make the trip to Zimbabwe for a five-match T20I series starting on July 6 in Harare. The team will be led by 24-year-old batter, Shubman Gill in Rohit Sharma’s absence. Gill will be India’s 14th captain in T20Is.
From the 15 selected players, four players got their maiden call ups. The four uncapped players are Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Riyan Parag and Tushar Deshpande while Dhruv Jurel – who made his debut against England in March – was also picked as the second wicket keeper, back up to Sanju Samson.
Only two players from the Indian team that reached the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies made the team. The two are Yashasvi Jaiswal and Samson. The rest of the players, their skipper, Gill, Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed were in India’s reserves for the global showpiece.
The Indian team is likely to leave for Zimbabwe on July 1 and will be coached by VVS Laxman in the interim, with Rahul Dravid’s tenure ending with the T20 World Cup. The BCCI is yet to appoint Dravid’s permanent replacement.
The series against India will mark a new chapter for Zimbabwe as they will be under a new technical setup. South African, Justin Sammons was appointed head coach last week, with former Zimbabwe international Dion Ebrahim as his assistant. They have been tasked with securing qualification for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The Chevrons missed out on qualifying for the ongoing T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States of America after a dismal showing in the regional qualifiers.
Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) is yet to announce their squad. Zimbabwe and India have faced each other eight times in 20-over cricket with India winning six of those while the Chevrons have only emerged victorious on a couple of occasions.
The five matches between Zimbabwe and India are pencilled in for 6, 7, 10, 13 and 14 July. All the five matches will be starting at 1pm.
India’s squad for T20I series in Zimbabwe:
Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.
Online Reporter