Mumbai: In a recent development, India has made three changes to their squad for the first two games of the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma, and Harshit Rana have been named as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
The World Cup-winning trio of Samson, Dube, and Jaiswal were initially scheduled to join the squad heading to Zimbabwe for the series starting on Saturday, July 6. However, they will now first travel to India with the rest of the ICC T20 World Cup-winning team before departing for Harare, causing them to miss the first two T20Is.
Jitesh Sharma and Sai Sudharsan, who debuted for India in 2023, will be joined by pacer Harshit Rana, who is receiving his first national call-up. Rana played a crucial role in the IPL 2024, picking up 19 wickets for the Kolkata Knight Riders, who went on to win the title.
Shubman Gill will captain India for the first time in the series against Zimbabwe. The five-match T20I series starts on July 6th.
India’s squad for the 1st and 2nd T20I against Zimbabwe:
Shubman Gill (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (WK), and Harshit Rana
Zimbabwe has also named a young side for the series, to be led by the experienced Sikandar Raza. The upcoming matches promise to showcase fresh talent and exciting cricketing action.