Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma, Harshit Rana replace T20 World Cup-winning trio for first 2 T20Is vs Zimbabwe

Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana will be filling in for Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson in the first two T20Is of India’s upcoming five-match series in Zimbabwe, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Tuesday.

Jaiswal, Dube and Samson were originally slated to join the Zimbabwe-bound squad for the series which starts on Saturday. However, the trio will travel with the rest of the Rohit Sharma-led squad back to India before departing for Zimbabwe after the side beat South Africa in a thrilling final in Barbados to win their first ICC title in over a decade.

The team will be coached by former batter and National Cricket Academy head VVS Laxman and captained by Shubman Gill in Zimbabwe. Sudharsan has played under Gill’s captaincy with the Gujarat Titans in the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The BCCI had earlier announced that the squad has left for Harare sharing pictures of players like Abhishek Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Avesh Khan, and Riyan Parag.

Dube was initially not a part of this team but was added to the squad in place of injured Nitish Kumar Reddy. The Zimbabwe series will mark a new chapter for India’s T20I team as it prepares for life after Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja. All three retired from the shortest format after the World Cup triumph.

It will be Abhishek, Parag, and Tushar Deshpande’s first tryst with international cricket. They were selected on the back of an outstanding IPL 2024. All eyes will be on Gill, who is set to make his captaincy debut for India. The right-handed opener missed a berth in India’s T20 World Cup squad and will be eager to stake a claim for the opener’s slot.

India’s squad for 1st & 2nd T20I against Zimbabwe: Shubman Gill (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Harshit Rana