IND vs ZIM 2022: “Hello from Harare”- KL Rahul & Co begins training in Harare ahead of ODI series against Zimbabwe

The Men in Blue gearing up for the ODI series. [Pic credits: BCCI]

KL Rahul & Co have begun training in Harare ahead of the upcoming ODI series against Zimbabwe. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday shared multiple snapshots of the Men in Blue practicing a day after landing in Harare.

Young guns Shubman Gill, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj and others were seen fine-tuning their skills ahead of the first ODI on August 18.

Sharing the post on the micro-blogging site, BCCI wrote:

“Hello from Harare”

Hello from Harare 👋

#TeamIndia | #ZIMvIND https://t.co/Ds9gKppjS1

India will play three ODIs between August 18 and 22 against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club.

The head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) VVS Laxman will assume the role of head coach in the ODI series. Rahul Dravid has been given a break ahead of the Asia Cup in the UAE.

India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey and batting coach Vikram Rathour have also been rested. Sairaj Bahutule and Hrishikesh Kanitkar will be filling in for them.

Laxman had earlier served as head coach during India's tour of Ireland.

Also Read: IND vs ZIM 2022: “Shubman is being groomed as an opener for the ODI World Cup” - Deep Dasgupta

KL Rahul & Co eyeing perfect start against Zimbabwe

The Men in Blue will be looking to continue their purple patch after registering a 3-0 victory in the recently concluded ODI series against West Indies. KL Rahul, who will lead the side, will be looking to get into the groove ahead of the highly anticipated Asia Cup 2022. Besides Rahul, all-rounder Deepak Chahar is also making a comeback after missing the IPL 2022.

On the other hand, Zimbabwe will be full of confidence after securing white-ball series wins against Bangladesh. All-rounder Sikander Raza, in particular, is in the form of his life. He amassed 252 runs and scalped five wickets in the three-match ODI series.

The likes of Innocent Kaia and stand-in captain Regis Chakabva also smashed centuries against Bangladesh.

The trio will look be looking to stun a second-string Team India in the opening contest.

#NewCoverPic https://t.co/hKUP62nX6M

The series is part of the ICC World Cup Super League and important for the hosts.

Zimbabwe will be looking to improve their tally in their attempt to make it into the eight automatic spots for the World Cup. They are currently 13th with 35 points from 15 games. Team India automatically qualified for the ICC World Cup 2023 due to their status as hosts.

India squad for 3 ODIs: KL Rahul (Captain) Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj and Deepak Chahar.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2022: "The mirror does not lie" - Aakash Chopra says Ravindra Jadeja will not give Team India too many wickets