 "India vs Zimbabwe: Abhishek Sharma, Harshit Rana and other young Indians to watch out for in T20I series")
Team India are back in action exactly a week after winning the T20 World Cup for the second time as they face Zimbabwe in their backyard in a five-match T20I series starting Saturday.
The Rohit Sharma-led Indian team had triumphed over South Africa in a tense final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, ending their 11-year jinx in ICC events with a seven-run victory.
The side that will be up against the Chevrons, however, couldn’t be more different. For starters, they will be without the services of Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja — all three of whom announced their retirement from Twenty20 Internationals after India’s triumph in the Caribbean.
Several other seniors such as Jasprit Bumrah, who had won the ‘Player of the Tournament’, as well as Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, have also been rested for what will be India’s second tour of Zimbabwe in this decade.
Instead, opening batter Shubman Gill will be leading a second-string Indian team that comprises several uncapped players and also includes Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson, who were part of the T20 World Cup squad but did not get a single game — either in the Caribbean or in the United States.
IND vs ZIM | Full schedule of T20I series, match timings, date, venue, squads, live streaming details
Gill himself wasn’t picked in the World Cup squad and was instead included among the travelling reserves.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsBefore the series gets underway, we take a look at some of the young Indian players, uncapped or otherwise, who are likely to shine bright against the Sikandar Raza-led home team on Saturday and in the subsequent week:
Abhishek Sharma
Skipper Gill has already indicated he will be opening alongside Abhishek Sharma, with Yashasvi Jaiswal moving down to the No 3 slot. Abhishek had been a revelation in the Indian Premier League earlier this year, smashing 484 runs across the season at a stunning strike rate of 204.22, collecting three half-centuries along the way.
Abhishek had formed an explosive partnership with Australia’s Travis Head at the top of the Sunrisers Hyderabad batting order, with the pair chasing down a target of 166 inside 10 overs against Lucknow Super Giants. Gill will be hoping he is able to form a successful partnership with his Punjab and 2018 U-19 World Cup teammate in the upcoming series.
Riyan Parag
While Abhishek was far more explosive a batter, Rajasthan Royals’ Riyan Parag was right up there with the very best when it came to getting those big scores on a consistent basis across the season.
The Assam batter finished at the third spot in the ‘Orange Cap’ list with 573 runs at a superb average of 52.09 and a strike rate touching 150 (149.21), and it was his consistency with the bat that played an important role in the Royals reaching the knockouts and going as far as Qualifier 2.
Parag had also come to the Royals’ rescue in tight situations more than once and it is this temperament that the Indian team management will be banking on in the coming series.
Harshit Rana
Kolkata Knight Riders’ Harshit Rana was by far the most impressive among the younger crop of bowlers in the IPL, finishing the fifth-highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets across the season. That included a match-winning haul of 3/24 against Lucknow Super Giants at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens in a game in which the home team had posted 235 on the board.
The primary reason why he could be an asset for the Indian team in the future, however, lies in his skills as a death bowler and one needs to look at the manner in which he conducted himself in the final over of the thrilling KKR vs SRH match at Eden on 23 March for proof, in which he halted Heinrich Klaasen’s late charge and bowled his team to a thrilling four-run victory.
Sai Sudharsan
Among the names mentioned in this list, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat Titans batter Sai Sudharsan is the only one with international experience. The southpaw, however, is yet to represent the Men in Blue in the shortest format, having played three ODIs in South Africa.
Sudharsan has been making steady progress since he made his IPL debut in 2022, in which he had collected 145 runs in five appearances. He would finishe with 362 runs in the following season at an average of 51.71, including a superb 96 against Chennai Super Kings in the final that nearly helped the Titans win back-to-back titles.
This year, he was the lone bright spot in what was an otherwise forgettable season for GT as he finished their leading run-scorer with 527 runs — including a century against CSK.
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