Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag and Tushar Deshpande have been selected in the Indian squad for the five-match T20I tour of Zimbabwe. The squad also featured Nitish Reddy initially but his injury has paved the way for Shivam Dubey’s selection.
Shubman Gill will lead the youthful squad which also features Dhruv Jurel and Khaleel Ahmed. The tour kicks off on July 6 at the Harare Sports Club, which will also host the remaining four matches over the course of next 8 days.
🚨 NEWS 🚨
Shivam Dube replaces Nitish Reddy in the #TeamIndia squad for the series against Zimbabwe. #ZIMvIND
Details 🔽https://t.co/WMktNAIDIx
— BCCI (@BCCI) June 26, 2024
Full squad:
Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Abhishek has earned his maiden call-up after a breakthrough IPL season this year, where he ended up as the highest six-hitter (42 in 16 games) in the tournament. Riyan, who was the third-highest run-getter of IPL 2024, also makes his way into the senior squad for the first time. Both the players offer a bit with the ball too.
The stature of Jurel, who had an impressive start to his Test career with a couple of high-pressure knocks against England, continues to grow. Although Jurel had an underwhelming IPL this year but his ability as a lower-order hitter seems to have punched his ticket.
Nitish Reddy’s all-round pedigree saw him make the cut as India eye a backup for the injury-prone Hardik Pandya. However, an untimely injury means he will have to will for his maiden India assignment.
Tushar has impressed with his domestic performances apart from decent back-to-back seasons with the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Khaleel Ahmed, who made it to the travelling reserves of the T20 World Cup squad but hasn’t played an international match since 2019, makes a comeback.
