Watch: Zimbabwe Welcomes ‘T20 World Cup Champions’ India as VVS Laxman’s Squad Arrives for Five-Match Series

Team India has landed in Zimbabwe for their upcoming five-match T20I series. The squad will feature only three players from the team that recently won the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados. These three players will join the rest of the team after the second T20I match. Shubman Gill, who will captain the team in Zimbabwe, is expected to join them from the USA and was not seen in the arrival photos in Harare. The team will be coached by VVS Laxman, head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Tuesday that Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma, and Harshit Rana will replace Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, and Sanju Samson for the first two T20I matches. Jaiswal, Dube, and Samson were initially supposed to join the squad for the series starting on Saturday. However, they will travel back to India with the rest of the Rohit Sharma-led team before heading to Zimbabwe. This change comes after India’s thrilling victory over South Africa in the final in Barbados, securing their first ICC title in over a decade.

Rinku Singh and Khaleel Ahmed, who were part of the traveling reserves, will also join the squad later. They were delayed in Barbados due to Hurricane Beryl. Gill, who was among the traveling reserves for the T20 World Cup, was released after India’s group stage games in New York. He took a break and will join the team directly in Harare from the US, according to PTI.

A Glimpse into the Future of Indian T20I Cricket

The team will be under the guidance of former batter and NCA head VVS Laxman. Sudharsan has previously played under Gill’s captaincy with the Gujarat Titans in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The BCCI had earlier shared pictures of players like Abhishek Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Avesh Khan, and Riyan Parag departing for Harare.

With the retirement of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja from T20 cricket, this series against Zimbabwe offers a golden opportunity for young players to secure their spots in the team for future series.