Sai Sudharsan, Harshit Rana and Jitesh Sharma added to India’s squad for first 2 T20Is against Zimbabwe
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) senior men's selection committee has named Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the first two T20Is against Zimbabwe. Samson, Dube and Jaiswal, who were part of India's 2024 T20 World Cup squad, were initially slated to join the Zimbabwe-bound squad for the five-match T20I series.
However, through an official release, the BCCI has confirmed that the three cricketers will first travel to India with the rest of the members of the T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad. Subsequently, they will depart for Zimbabwe.
While Samson and Jaiswal did not feature in a single match for Team India in the 2024 T20 World Cup played in West Indies and the United States, Dube was part of all of India's matches. The left-handed batter scored 133 runs in eight innings at an average of 22.16 and a strike rate of 114.65. He contributed a vital 27 off 16 in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa in Barbados.
According to reports, the World Cup-winning members of the Indian team are likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi after returning to the country. The Indian team has been stranded in Barbados for the last two days due to Hurricane Beryl. As per a report in ESPNcricinfo, the Men in Blue are likely to fly home via a charter flight on the evening of Tuesday, July 2.
India’s squad for 1st & 2nd T20I against Zimbabwe
Team India will play five T20Is in Zimbabwe from July 6 to 14. Opener Shubman Gill has been named captain of the young team, which also includes Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag and Tushar Deshpande. VVS Laxman will be the coach of the Indian team for the series in Zimbabwe.
India's squad for first two T20Is: 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), Harshit Rana
All the five matches of the India vs Zimbabwe series will be played at the Harare Sports Club in Harare and will start at 4:30 pm IST [1:00 pm local time].