Shubman Gill will captain the side while Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag will be making their India team debuts.
The Board for Control Of Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday officially announced the squad for the upcoming Zimbabwe series, scheduled to begin from July 6.
As earlier reported by the Indian Express, Shubman Gill will be captaining the side with most of the names taking part in the ongoing T20 World Cup sitting this series out that includes Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav.
In-form Sunrisers Hyderabad opener Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tushar Deshpande, Khaleel Ahmed all regulars for their respective teams in the IPL will board the flight to Zimbabwe and so will those on the bench during the T20 World Cup, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rinku Singh.
The squad also includes the Chennai Super Kings skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar.
Squad: Ꮪhubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.#TeamIndia | #ZIMvIND
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 24, 2024
Gill, who travelled to the Indian team to USA as a reserve player, returned to India along with pacer Avesh Khan as the team management wanted to give them a break as they were unlikely to feature in any of the T20 World Cup games.
It is the first time Abhishek Sharma, 23, was selected for an Indian team. The Punjab batsman had scored 484 runs and along with Travis Head, gave SRH flying starts in the IPL. Rajasthan Royals’ Riyan Parag too had a great IPL season tallying 573 runs. The selectors wanted to test out another medium-pace allround and hence picked SRH’s Reddy. Reddy had won BCCI’s emerging player of the year award. Mumbai’s pacer Deshpande, had a good domestic season, was a dependable bowler for Chennai Super Kings.
India’s squad for T20I series against Zimbabwe: Ꮪhubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.
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