India's predicted playing XI for the 3rd T20I vs Zimbabwe

India will face off against Zimbabwe in the third T20I at the Harare Sports Club on Wednesday, July 10. The five-match series is currently tied at 1-1.

The Men in Blue will be bolstered by the return of three members of their T20 World Cup-winning squad. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, and Sanju Samson have joined the squad ahead of the last three T20Is, giving the think tank a major selection headache.

India’s squad for the T20Is against Zimbabwe: Shubman Gill (c), 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), Harshit Rana, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson (wk).

On that note, here is India's predicted playing XI for the third T20I against Zimbabwe.

Openers: Shubman Gill (c) and Yashasvi Jaiswal

It's hard to predict what India will do at the top of the order. Shubman Gill, as the captain, is expected to be persisted with. Who will his partner be?

Yashasvi Jaiswal cannot be kept out of the XI. Although Abhishek Sharma smashed a hundred in the last game, he is more suited to batting in the middle order and could move down, opening up a spot for Jaiswal at the top.

Middle order: Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar

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Ruturaj Gaikwad arguably shouldn't be part of India's XI for the 3rd T20I despite his half-century in the last game, but that knock should be enough for him to retain his place. He and Abhishek could alternate at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions depending upon which opener is dismissed first.

Sanju Samson is back in the mix and could force Dhruv Jurel out of the side. That would be harsh on the recent debutant, and the same goes for Riyan Parag and B Sai Sudharsan. With Shivam Dube vying for a middle-order role as well, India might make a host of changes to accommodate their incumbent players.

Rinku Singh and Washington Sundar, who have been among the better performers in the series so far, are likely to retain their spots.

Lower order: Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan

Mukesh Kumar has taken a few wickets [Image Courtesy: BCCI on X]

India dropped Khaleel Ahmed for an extra batter in the second T20I, and they could persist with that strategy in the third encounter.

Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan could be the two fast bowlers once again, with the team having got a couple of days off. It would be nice to see Harshit Rana replacing Mukesh, but there are no indications of the team management looking past the latter.

Ravi Bishnoi, who has been virtually unplayable, will be the side's lead spinner.