India Playing 11 vs Zimbabwe- 1st T20I, India Tour Of Zimbabwe 2024

India led by Shubman Gill takes on Zimbabwe in a five-match T20I series starting with the first game in Harare on Saturday, July 6. The match starts at 4.30 pm IST. 

The Indian squad for the first two games is slightly different from the last three. The BCCI has announced Harshit Rana, Sai Sudharsan, and Jitesh Sharma as replacements for Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shiva Dube. The World Cup-winning trip will first return to India with the squad and then join the squad for the final three games in Harare.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, the SRH all-rounder unfortunately was ruled out with an injury after earning his maiden India call-up. Riyan Parag, Tushar Deshpande, and Hardhit earned their maiden call-ups as well.

India last played a T20I bilateral series against Zimbabwe in 2016. The two teams last played in the T20 World Cup 2022 with India beating the African nation comfortably by 71 runs. 

While India's batting looks solid, the bowling attack looks a bit inexperienced as the players selected have not played international cricket for a long time. This is where the challenge lies for the bowlers against Zimbabwe. 

Also Read: Hardik Pandya becomes world No. 1 all-rounder in ICC Rankings after T20 World Cup heroics

In this article, we pick India's predicted XI for the first T20I. There are five T20Is and hence the players are likely to be rotated. VVS Laxman will travel with the side to Zimbabwe as the head coach of the side. 

India Playing 11 vs Zimbabwe- 1st T20I, India Tour Of Zimbabwe 2024

Shubman Gill (C)

Shubman Gill will open the batting for India. He is one of the few Indian batters to have scored centuries in all three formats. The batter led Gujarat Titans in the IPL and this is his first leadership experience for India. 

Abhishek Sharma 

The southpaw might be included in the XI to maintain the left-right combination. He scored 484 for SRH in IPL 2024 and redefined powerplay batting along with Travis Head. He should be selected in this XI for the first T20I. 

Ruturaj Gaikwad

Gaikwad can slot in at three. He is naturally an opener but perfectly capable of batting at three. He scored 583 runs in IPL 2024 hitting his first IPL ton as well. For India. he has played 19 T20Is scoring 500 runs so far.

Riyan Parag 

Parag might slot in at four. He scored 573 runs in IPL 2024 batting at that number for Rajasthan Royals and hence might be given that number to bat. He can roll his arm over with the ball as well. If he plays, it will be his T20I debut for India.

Rinku Singh 

The southpaw might slot in at five. He was a part of the reserves in India's T20 World Cup-winning squad. He averages 89 in just 15 T20is for Idnia with the strike rate touching 180 in just 11 innings. He has played three unbeaten knocks this year in T20Is.

Dhruv Jurel / Jitesh Sharma (WK)

One among Jurel of Jitsh might be selected as the keeper-batter. Jitesh had a forgetful season with the bat while Jurel played a few impactful knocks. 

Washington Sundar 

Sundar might slot in at seven. He has been part of many India touring teams in the past but has not got his chance to play. He has played 43 T20Is for India making his debut in 2017. He last played all three T20Is  against Afghanistan. 

Ravi Bishnoi 

Bishnoi will be the specialist leggie. He last played for India in the series against Afghanistan as well. He is not included in India's T20 World Cup squad. 

Harshit Rana 

Rana might be one of the pacers picked in the XI. He picked 19 wickets and was central to KKR's success in IPL 2024. He bats in the lower order for his stateside Delhi as well. 

Khaheel Ahmed 

Khaleel might be one of the two pacers selected for the first T20I. He took 17 wickets for Delhi Capitals and was impressive with the ball. He last played for India in 2019. 

Mukesh Kumar 

Mukesh concludes the likely India XI for the first T20I. His death bowling skills will be crucial in the first game. He picked up 17 wickets for the Capitals in IPL 2024. He last played for India in the T20I series against Afghanistan. 

Also Read: Rohit Sharma showed how T20 World Cup is won: Suryakumar Yadav gives all credit to India captain for historic triumph