Zimbabwe Head Coach instigates Shubman Gill; reminds him of benching experience

Zimbabwe head coach Justin Sammons claimed that he was highly impressed by Shubman Gill and the young Indian side before the first T20I of the series between Zimbabwe and India at Harare.

Team India just claimed the T20 World Cup 2024 trophy in Barbados. They have sent a second-string side in Zimbabwe to compete in a five-match T20I series. The team will be led by young opener Shubman Gill. The squad comprises a no. of IPL stars who had an excellent season this year.

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Zimbabwe coach impressed by Shubman Gill and the young Indian team

While speaking ahead of the first T20I of the series, Justin Sammons lauded Shubman Gill and praised his work ethic. He also spoke about Gill's excellent record in international cricket so far.

"Shubman (Gill) is a superb cricketer, I remember first seeing Shubman, I think I was with the Proteas. We were playing that Test series against India. I think it was December 2021. He didn’t get any game time there, but you could see his work ethic and how professional he was in the way he went about his business in the nets during that Test series was something exciting to watch. And like I say, his record speaks for itself,” Sammons said.

Shubman Gill has a fantastic ODI record where he averages more than 60. Now, he will be looking to cement his spot in the T20I team and make the opening spot his own.

“They’re exciting, they’re dangerous" - Justin Sammons on Team India

Justin Sammons was also aware of the young Indian side and claimed that they were dangerous despite missing some of the big names. He also spoke about young batter Riyan Parag who will be here for his debut international series.

“They’re exciting, they’re dangerous. They have proven records against their names. It’s an amazing opportunity for us and I think as a youngster growing up, you always dream of playing against the best in the world,” the Zimbabwe coach said.

“We can see how dangerous Riyan Parag is. He had a great IPL and showed his worth there. Again, another exciting prospect for India. Again, it’s another opportunity for our guys to test themselves against the best,” he added.

Riyan Parag had a fantastic IPL 2024 season where he finished as the third-highest run-getter of the tournament with 573 runs in 14 innings at an average of 52.09 and a strike rate of 149.21. His consistency was commendable this year after a few disappointing seasons with the bat.

This series will be crucial as it will help in predicting the future batting stars of India's T20 line-up. After the retirement of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja from the format, it will be interesting to see who takes their places in the Playing XI.

Although they are a second-string side, this Indian side possesses enormous talent and experience of playing in the IPL. But international cricket is different and it will be interesting to see how these IPL stars fare at this level.