India's squad from their previous Zimbabwe tour: Where are they now?
India will travel to Zimbabwe next month for an ICC Cricket World Cup Super League series against the home team, starting August 18. The Men in Blue will play a three-match ODI series against the African nation with 30 Super League points on the line.
It will be India's first Zimbabwe tour in six years. The last time an Indian squad visited the African nation was in 2016. MS Dhoni captained the Men in Blue on that tour, where they won the T20I and ODI series.
With India set for another tour of Zimbabwe this year, we will look back at the Indian squad from the 2016 tour and where those players are now.
Batters - Faiz Fazal, Karun Nair, Mandeep Singh and Manish Pandey
The selectors picked a second-string batting lineup for the 2016 tour. The likes of Faiz Fazal, Mandeep Singh and Karun Nair made their debuts for the Men in Blue.
While the three debutants performed well on that tour, they did not get enough opportunities to play international cricket after that. Manish Pandey got multiple chances but could not cement his place. All four batters currently play domestic cricket, with Nair, Singh and Pandey also having IPL contracts.
Wicket-keepers - KL Rahul, MS Dhoni and Ambati Rayudu
MS Dhoni was the only senior member in the Indian squad that toured Zimbabwe in 2016. He captained the team and helped them win both series. KL Rahul made his ODI debut on that tour and scored a century straightaway. Ambati Rayudu scored a half-century in the ODIs as well.
Dhoni retired from international cricket in 2020 but still plays for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Rahul is currently the Indian vice-captain, while Rayudu plays in domestic cricket and IPL.
All Rounders - Kedar Jadhav, Rishi Dhawan, Axar Patel and Jayant Yadav
India picked three spin-bowling all-rounders and a pace-bowling all-rounder for the series against Zimbabwe. Rishi Dhawan made his debut on the tour but could not impress much. Axar Patel troubled the Zimbabwean players with his left-arm spin, while Kedar Jadhav scored 77 runs in three T20Is. Jayant Yadav warmed the benches the entire tour.
Patel is the only player who has played international cricket for India this year. He has been a regular member of the white-ball squads.
Dhawan and Yadav have performed well in domestic cricket and are aiming for a comeback, whereas Jadhav has struggled in recent years. He also went unsold in IPL 2022.
Bowlers - Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni, Barinder Sran and Yuzvendra Chahal
Jasprit Bumrah was the highest wicket-taker in the ODI series with nine scalps. Barinder Sran was the most successful bowler in the T20I series. He bagged six wickets in the first two T20I matches of his career against Zimbabwe.
Dhawal Kulkarni and Jaydev Unadkat were the other fast bowlers in the squad. Yuzvendra Chahal led the team's spin attack.
Kulkarni, Unadkat and Sran's career graphs have gone down in recent years. Sran was a net bowler for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022, while Kulkarni worked as a commentator. Unadkat played for the Mumbai Indians but had an average season.
Bumrah and Chahal have achieved enormous success in international cricket. Both are among the top bowlers in the country right now. Chahal won the IPL 2022 Purple Cap and Bumrah recently captained Team India.