Young Indian team departs for Zimbabwe Tour after India's T20 World Cup title win

The young Indian team led by Shubman Gill has departed for their tour to Zimbabwe on July 2 as they are set to play a five-match T20I series against the African nation. Five T20Is will be played between July 6-16. VVS Laxman is set to coach the side in this series.

All the senior Indian players have been rested after their recent T20 World Cup win. Veterans Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja have also announced their retirement from T20I cricket.

The new-age Indian players have been allowed in this series to prove their potential. Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, and Shivam Dube will join the side in Zimbabwe from the side that won the T20 World Cup recently. Dube was signed as a replacement for Nitish Kumar Reddy who was ruled out with an injury.

Gill was among the reserves for the T20 World Cup, along with Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Avesh Khan, who are all part of the squad for the Zimbabwe series. The five-match series will be played on July 6, 7, 10, 13, and 14, with all the matches to scheduled in Harare. All the matches start at 1 pm IST. India last toured Zimbabwe in 2022 under Hardik Pandya's captaincy.

The BCCI has shared pictures of the youngsters departing with their coach VVS Laxman. Many players have earned their maiden India call-ups for this tour. The tour is important for someone like Riyan Parag who finally came good in the IPL. He ended as the third-highest run-getter 573 runs in 15 games at an average of 52.09.

BCCI Shares Pictures Of Indian Players Departing For Zimbabwe Tour

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Zimbabwe 🇿🇼#TeamIndia 🇮🇳 | #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/q3sFz639z7

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 1, 2024

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— BCCI (@BCCI) July 1, 2024

Shubman Gill was a part of the reserves of the Indian team along with Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan, and Rinku Singh. All of them will join the other players in Zimbabwe. Gill was part of the reserves but was allowed to leave the camp early.

Meanwhile, the nature of Nitish's injury was not revealed. His absence meant that Shivam Dube got another chance to prove his big-hitting potential. He made important contributions in the T20 World Cup in matches against Australia, Bangladesh, and the USA. He scored a crucial 27 off 16 balls in the World Cup final as well.

The series will allow senior Indian bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh to recover from a long and enduring T20 World Cup tournament. Every player gave his best in this World Cup win for the country and now deserves a much-needed break.

 Zimbabwe have also announced their squad for the series. The side will be led by Sikandar Raza who is one of the most sort out T20 players. Antum Naqvi, the uncapped 25-year-old batter has been added to the squad. A few players have retained their place while a few senior players were not considered for selection.

Tendai Chatara, Brandon Mavuta, and Wessly Madhevere are among those who return to the 17-man squad. Meanwhile, the likes of Ryan Burl, Joylord Gumbie, and Ainsley Ndlovu. Craig Ervine and Sean Williams were not considered for selection by the board.

India's T20 squad vs Zimbabwe: Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube.

Zimbabwe Squad: Sikandar Raza (captain), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Brandon Mavuta, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Antum Naqvi, Richard Ngarava, Milton Shumba