Reports: India team for Zimbabwe tour to feature Sarfaraz Khan, other IPL performers

India team to hand fresh debuts?

India are set to tour Zimbabwe for a series of limited-overs matches in June, and it is being speculated now that the tour could be an opportunity for several new faces to make their mark in the international circuit. Senior players, most of whom have been involved in a period of relentless high-octane cricket, will probably be afforded a rest as the bench strength is tried out.

India will play three ODIs and three Twenty20 Internationals between June 11 and 22. All the matches will be played at Harare Sports Club with the ODIs scheduled to be played between June 11-15 and the Twenty20s between June 18-22.

The senior group of players – including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin – can do with a rest before the Test season starts with a tour of the West Indies in July. MS Dhoni might be with the team because of his lack of Test commitments.

The Indian selection committee is likely to meet at the end of this month to select the squad to be sent to Zimbabwe, and it is obvious that a lot of weight will be given to performances in the 2016 IPL.

Possible names that will be discussed at selection meeting

Manish Pandey of Kolkata Knight Riders, Karun Nair of Delhi Daredevils, Axar Patel of Kings XI Punjab, KL Rahul of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Dhawal Kulkarni of Gujarat Lions are some who can hope to be discussed with favour in that meeting. DD’s Shreyas Iyer has also been knocking on the doors of India selection for a while now, but needs to resuscitate his current season to stand a chance of making it to the team.

Veterans like Amit Mishra, Piyush Chawla and Harbhajan Singh are also likely to be discussed.

The other name doing the rounds is that of RCB’s young batting prodigy, India U-19’s batting star, Sarfaraz Khan. Sarfaraz has missed the last two matches for RCB with a minor injury, but his stroke making has been impressive in the limited opportunities that he has got this season.

The 18-year-old has been rising through the ranks of Indian domestic cricket with promising consistency. If one thought his 439 in the Haris Shield in 2009 was a fluke, his Ranji century last season and consistent showings in the U19 World Cup this year was proof enough that he has the application to back his talent.

The proof was backed up in the recent IPL match against Sunrisers Hyderabad – coming lower down the order, Sarfaraz faced four full tosses from experienced campaigner Bhuvneshwar Kumar, with all four of them being dispatched to the boundary.