Even after winning the T20 World Cup, the Indian team could not return home. Sanju Samson, Yasswi Jaiswal, and Shivam Dube were supposed to tour Zimbabwe. But as they could not return home yet, three cricketers were included in the team for the first two matches of the Zimbabwe tour. Harshit Rana of the Kolkata Knight Riders got a place. Sai Sudarshan and Jeetesh Sharma have also been taken.
The Zimbabwe tour starts on July 6. World Cup winners India are scheduled to play five T20 matches. Opportunities are given to young people on that tour. Shubman Gill has been made captain. Sanju, Yasswi, and Dubey were retained in the World Cup squad for that tour. But they still could not return home as they were stuck in Barbados due to the storm. That is why Harshit is being sent to Zimbabwe for the first two matches.
Harshit’s place in the Indian team is due to his good performance in the IPL. The IPL-winning KKR pacer played consistently well. That is why he took the place. Sudarshan and Jeetesh have played well in the last two IPLs. They have played for the Indian team before.
The Indian team will board a flight home on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Barbados time. They may return to Delhi on Wednesday night. As a result, it will be difficult for Sanjud to play in Zimbabwe on Saturday. That is why the board wants to rest them for some days. Sanjura will join the team for the last three matches.
The Indian Cricket Board has announced the team changes for the first two matches on social media. Along with captain Shubman, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma will be the openers in that team. Along with that, batters like Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel, and Rian Parag have been kept on the team. Sudarshan and Jeetesh joined them. Washington Sundre and Ravi Bishnoi will be there to handle the spin attack. Abesh Khan, Khalil Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, and Harshit Rana will handle the pace attack.
Shubman was not in India’s T20 squad. He was taken as a reserve. But Shubman was released after the group stage match. He was vacationing in America. Shubman will go straight to Zimbabwe from there.
