[Watch] Team India players and coaching staff touch down in Harare ahead of Zimbabwe T20Is
The new-look Team India have arrived in Zimbabwe ahead of their five-match T20I series, set to begin on July 6. Zimbabwe Cricket took to their Instagram account to post photos and videos of the Indian players and the coaching staff arriving at the airport.
Interim head coach VVS Laxman was first seen walking out of the arrivals section alongside assistant coach Sithanshu Kotak. Players like Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma, Avesh Khan, Tushar Deshpande, etc were also seen chatting after their arrival. The youngsters seemed excited for the challenge.
Here's the post by Zimbabwe Cricket:
India's squad for the 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.
Abhishek Sharma opens up on maiden India call-up
Swashbuckling young left-hander Abhishek Sharma is one of the few names likely to make their debut in the Zimbabwe T20Is. He revealed that it was India's stand-in captain Shubman Gill who broke the news to him. The duo have shared a great camaraderie right from their age-group days with Punjab.
Here's what Abhishek said in a video posted by the BCCI:
"Shubman was the first to call me as soon as my name came out. I got a lot of calls and love. It was a big thing for me. When I went home I saw that everyone was already giving interviews! I hadn't even come into the picture and all my family members were giving interviews (laughs). I think that was one moment I'll always remember," he said.
Abhishek admitted that he hadn't anticipated that his call-up would come so soon and that it would be at an away tour to Zimbabwe. The left-hander had a breakout IPL 2024 season for the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), scoring 484 runs at a strike rate of more than two hundred and helping his team reach the final.