Not Yuvraj Singh! Abhishek Sharma reveals he received first call from this India star after selection for Zimbabwe T20Is

Indian player Abhishek Sharma has got his first break as he has been selected for India vs Zimbabwe series. Abhishek Sharma was picked by BCCI in the final squad for the IND vs ZIM T20I series; which will observe a total of 5 games between both nations 

Abhishek Sharma, who was part of Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024, revealed that he received a call from Shubman Gill post his selection. Notably, Shubman Gill has been nominated as the skipper in the T20I series, after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and the absence of deputy Hardik Pandya. 

The Shubman Gill-led Indian team will tour Zimbabwe from July 6 to July 14 for the T20I series. The 1st T20I game takes place on Saturday, July 6 while the final game takes place on Sunday, July 14. All the five games will be played at Harare Sports Club in Harare City. 

I received a call from Shubman Gill after selection: Abhishek Sharma  

Left-handed batter Abhishek Sharma has been picked as one of the newcomers in the national side, including the likes of Tushar Deshpande, Harshit Rana, and Riyan Parag. 

After his selection, Sharma revealed that skipper Shubman Gill called him to congratulate him. He also added his parents were giving interviews to the media when he reached home after speaking to Gill. 

 "I received a call from (Shubman) Gill after the selection, I felt very good. Before my interview, when I reached home, my parents were giving interviews. I felt proud," he said. 

Abhishek Sharma got a national call-up after his stunning show in IPL 2024. The left-handed batsman was a member of Sunrisers Hyderabad. Batting as an opener, he shattered 484 runs in 16 games at a 201+ strike rate. 

The 23-year-old hit 3 half-centuries with a top knock 75*. Along with Travis Head, he gave a quickfire start to the team in many games and SRH also broke the record for the top-ever team total (287) in IPL 2024. Sunrisers Hyderabad ended as runners-up in IPL 2024. 

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Ishan Kishan snubbed as wicketkeeper in Zimbabwe series 

Interestingly, Ishan Kishan was once again snubbed by BCCI as wicketkeeper and Jitesh Sharma and Dhruv Jurel were picked for the first two T20I games. Later, Sanju Samson will replace Jitesh Sharma. 

Notably, Jitesh Sharma will be replaced by Sanju Samson for the last three games. A few players who played in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 will also return for the last three games of the IND vs ZIM series and replace some other players in the squad. For instance, Sai Sudharsan will be replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal in the later half of the series. 

Khaleel Ahmed will make a comeback to the side after a long time. After the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, it will be interesting to see who will cement their place in the top order in the shortest format.