Shubman Gill turns Babar Azam, demotes Abhishek Sharma despite scoring century as he gets new opening partner

Shubman Gill-led Team India will have a new opening combination for the third T20I against Zimbabwe on Wednesday (July 10).

Even though the Indian team had registered a thumping win in the second game, the playing eleven was expected to see some changes because of the arrival of World Cup winners Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, and Shivam Dube.

And as expected, all three players have been named in the playing eleven for the crucial third game. Khaleel Ahmed has also been included in the team. Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Sai Sudharsan, and Mukesh Kumar have made way for the four new entrants in the playing eleven.

New opening combination for Team India:

As far as the opening combination is concerned, Yashasvi Jaiswal has replaced Abhishek Sharma as one of the openers. Even though Sharma had scored a blistering century in the second T20I, the team management decided to demote him to number three to make room for Jaiswal.

Captain Shubman Gill will be opening the innings with Jaiswal in the third game. Jaiswal did not play a single game in the T20 World Cup and would be looking to hit the ground running. Meanwhile, India have won the toss and opted to bat first.

"We'll bat first. Hopefully the moisture will help us. We have got the World Cup winners back in the team. Sanju, Jaiswal and Shivam are in. So is Khaleel, Mukesh rests for this one. We feel we have a balanced side," said Shubman Gill after winning the toss.

#TeamIndia win the toss and will bat first 👌

Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube make the Playing XI 🙌

Follow the Match ▶️ https://t.co/FiBMpdZo0K#ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/4b6jBqx899

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 10, 2024

On the other hand, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza said: "We were going to bowl first either way. The surface isn't as moist as the first, not very flat. Will see the seamers coming into the contest, and expect some slow turn.

"Hopefully, the boys have learnt a few lessons from the second game. We need to back our bowlers and keep them to as low a total as possible. Two changes for us. Innocent Kaia has a slight injury, Marumani is in. And Ngarava comes in for Luke Jongwe," he added.

The five-match series is currently locked at 1-1. Zimbabwe had stunned India by 13 runs in the first game before the visitors bounced back with a 100-run win in the second game.

Playing XIs:

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson(w), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed

Zimbabwe: Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wessly Madhevere, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza(c), Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande(w), Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara