3 Indian players who will have a point to prove in Zimbabwe T20Is ft. Shubman Gill
The Indian team is set to take on Zimbabwe in a five-match T20I series that starts on July 6 away from home. This will be the first assignment after the historic 2024 T20 World Cup win.
With big names like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja quitting the format and several regulars rested, this will be a fresh-look Indian team.
All five T20Is of the series will be played at a single venue, that is the Harare Sports Club. Part of the T20 World Cup-winning squad, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal were replaced by Harshit Rana, Jitesh Sharma and Sai Sudarshan for the first two games.
This tour will be a crucial one for several youngsters in the Indian team, who will look to put up their best performances as it could also mark the preparation for the next T20 World Cup scheduled in two years.
There will be certain players who will be in the spotlight, aiming to prove themselves in this series. Let us take a look at three such Indian players in this article.
3 Indian players who will have a point to prove in Zimbabwe
#3 Ravi Bishnoi
Despite being on the list of the top-ranked bowlers in T20Is in the ICC rankings, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi didn't make the squad for the T20 World Cup 2024 as the team management decided to go with Yuzvendra Chahal.
However, Chahal did not get a single game in the tournament. Included in the squad for the Zimbabwe tour, Bishnoi will be the team's lead spinner.
Bishnoi should use this opportunity to strengthen his position on the T20I side. With his ability to flight the ball well and use variations, he could be lethal in any condition.
He has 36 wickets from 24 T20Is so far, to go with 63 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well.
#2 Rinku Singh
Rinku Singh, who narrowly missed out on making the T20 World Cup squad, traveled with the team as a reserve player. After performing well for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, Rinku will now look to showcase his mettle once again and prove BCCI's decision wrong.
His numbers certainly do justice, as he has scored 356 runs in 15 T20Is at an impressive strike rate of 176.24.
The left-hander also has 893 runs from 45 IPL matches, striking at 143.34. With match-winning performances down the order, Rinku will be eager to cement his place as a finisher in the shortest format.
#1 Shubman Gill
Omitted from the T20 World Cup squad, Shubman Gill is now among the frontrunners as the future captain of the national team in this format.
The talented opener needs to solidify his case at the top with Rohit and Virat no longer present. There will be pressure on him to lead a relatively young bunch of players.
For Shubman Gill, the larger picture will be to showcase his skills as a leader. This series will be a learning curve as well as a testing ground in terms of leadership and on a personal level too, given the fact that he hasn't had the best of starts to his T20I career as a batter.