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

Zimbabwe takes on India in a five-match T20I series starting with the first T20I on Saturday, July 6 from 4.30 pm IST. All the matches will be played in Harare. 

Zimbabwe will be led by Sikandar Raza. He has been leading the ZImbabe T20I side for some time now. Under his leadership, Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the T20 World Cup. Heading into this series, they lost to teams like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh who played before the T20 World Cup.

As a result, the Zimbabwe Cricket Board sacked a few senior players from this T20I series. Tendai Chatara, Brandon Mavuta, and Wessly Madhevere are among those who return to the 17-man squad led by Sikandar Raza but there's no place for Ryan Burl, Joylord Gumbie, and Ainsley Ndlovu. Veteran cricketers Craig Ervine and Sean Williams are also not a part of this squad. 

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This is a new-look Zimbabwe squad with not too many experienced players. Sikandar Raza will need help from the likes of Blessing Musarabani and Richard Ngarava with the ball to mount a challenge on India. In this article, we predict Zimbabwe's playing XI for the first T20I against India. 

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

Jonathan Campbell 

Campbell will open the batting for Zimbabwe. He made his T20I debut earlier this year and has played nine games in the format. He played his last match against Zimbabwe. 

Milton Shumba 

Shumba will open the batting with Campbell. He has already played 30 T20Is for his country with the best score of 66. All the batters have a chance to make an impact against India. 

Dion Myers

Myers will slot in at three. He has played 8 T20Is for Zimbabwe with a best of 36. He averages 17.38 with the bat and strikes at close to 120. 

Sikandar Raza (C)

Raza will slot in at four and will need to anchor the innings for his team. He has played 82 T20Is for Zimbabwe and is inching closer to 2000 T20I runs. He has also picked up 60 wickets. 

Innocent Kaia

Kaia will bat at five. He has already played 17 T20Is for Zimbabwe and has a best knock of 54. He has to step up in the middle order.

Wessly Madhevere

The bowling all-rounder will slot in at six. He has already played 60 T20Is for Zimbabwe and has a best score of 73. He has also picked up 13 wickets in the format. 

Clive Madande (WK)

Madande will bat at seven as the specialist keeper-batter. He is the lone wicketkeeper in the side selected for this series. He too has played 30 T20Is for Zimbabwe. 

 Tendai Chatara

Chatara is among the most experienced bowlers in Zimbabwe. He has been playing international cricket since 2010 and made his T20I debut against India. He is one short of 50 T20I wickets. 

Wellington Masakadza

The left-arm spinner will bat at nine. He is the younger brother of Hamilton Masakadza the former Zimbabwe opener. Wellington has played 50 T20I matches with 39 wickets to his name. 

Blessing Musarabani 

Musarabani will lead the pace attack for Zimbabwe. He has played against India in the past and hence the opposition well. His pace and bounce will trouble the Indian batters. He has picked up 60 T20I wickets in 51 matches. 

Richard Ngarava

Ngarava concludes the likely Zimbabwe XI for the first T20I. He has taken 62 T20I wickets in 52 games. He and Blessing Musarabani will be a major threat to Indian batters because of their height.

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