Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir in press conference© PTI

Former Indian cricket team spinner Harbhajan Singh pointed out three massive exclusions for the upcoming T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka. Harbhajan took to social media to express his disappointment at Abhishek Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal and Sanju Samson missing out. While Samson did find a place in the T20I squad, Abhishek and Chahal were not included at all despite the young batter scoring big against Zimbabwe and the veteran spinner having a brilliant IPL season. “Hard to understand why @yuzi_chahal @IamAbhiSharma4 @IamSanjuSamson are not part of the Indian Team for Sri Lanka,” he posted on his official handle on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Hard to understand why @yuzi_chahal @IamAbhiSharma4 @IamSanjuSamson are not part of the Indian Team for Sri Lanka

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) July 19, 2024

Meanwhile, newly-appointed captain in the shortest format, Suryakumar Yadav, expressed his happiness after being named as Men in Blue’s newest captain in T20Is, saying that the new role brings a lot of “responsibility, excitement and enthusiasm”.

India have named Suryakumar Yadav as the captain of their men’s T20I team for the tour of Sri Lanka with Shubman Gill named as the vice-captain of the T20I and ODI sides. The white-ball tour to Sri Lanka will start from July 27 and will consist of three T20Is and ODIs. It will be India’s first international assignment under new coach Gautam Gambhir, who was appointed as the head coach earlier in July.

Taking to Instagram, Suryakumar Yadav wrote, “Thank you so much for outpouring love, support and best wishes from you. The last few weeks have been nothing short of a dream and I am truly grateful. Playing for the country is the most special feeling that I will never be able to describe in words. This new role brings with it, a lot of responsibility, excitement and enthusiasm. I hope to keep receiving your support and blessings. All fame reaches God, God is great.”

Here are the India squads for Sri Lanka tour –

T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.

ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.

(With IANS inputs)

File photo of Suryakumar Yadav (left) and Hardik Pandya© AFP

Lok Sabha MP and cricket’s avid fan, Shashi Tharoor has lashed out at the BCCI’s selection committee for the squads picked for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour. The team selected by the board had some surprise exclusions that dragged the attention of Tharoor. He raised his voice against the omission of Sanju Samson from ODIs and Abhishek Sharma from T20Is. While Samson made it to the squad for the shortest format series against Sri Lanka, Abhishek — who scored a sensational century in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe — was overlooked for the tour.

“Interesting squad selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @IamSanjuSamson , who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who hit a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in India colours mattered so little to the selectors! Good luck to the team anyway,” wrote Tharoor.

Interesting squad selection for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this month. @IamSanjuSamson, who hit a century in his last ODI, has not been picked for ODIs, while @IamAbhiSharma4, who hit a T20I century in the #INDvZIM series, has not been picked at all. Rarely has success in… pic.twitter.com/PJU5JxSOx2

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 18, 2024

Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed to lead the Indian team in T20Is against Sri Lanka while Shubman Gill has been named his deputy for the three-match series. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been named in the ODI squad for the tour with the former also captaining the side. Gill is the vice-captain in the ODI series as well.

India squads for Sri Lanka tour –

India’s T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj. 

India’s ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.

File photo of Sanju Samson.© AFP

Vice-captain Sanju Samson smashed his second T20I fifty through a 45-ball 58, while fast-bowler Mukesh Kumar picked his career-best figures in the format through 4-22 as India beat Zimbabwe by 42 runs in the fifth and final game at the Harare Sports Club to win the series 4-1. Samson was at his languid best, hitting a four and four sixes in his knock, while sharing a 65-run stand off 56 balls for the fourth wicket with Riyan Parag, to bail India out of trouble after losing their top three batters in powerplay.

The wicetkeeper-batter slammed a 110-metre six during the game. It was so big that the ball went out of the ground.

Brandon Mavuta tossed up the ball outside off stump and Samson slammed it down the ground for the biggie.

Watch it here:

While Samson scored a solid half-century, Dube’s quick cameo of 26 along with some lofty hits at the end from Rinku Singh took India to a competitive 167/6, as 30 runs came off the last two overs. In reply, Mukesh struck twice with the new ball to put Zimbabwe in early trouble.

Dion Myers and Tadiwanashe Marumani kept Zimbabwe in the hunt, but a collapse saw the hosts’ go from 85/3 to 94/7 and be eventually all out for 125 in 18.3 overs, as India got a strong series win after losing the opening match by 13 runs.

Mukesh gave India a brilliant start in their defence of 168 when Wesley Madhevere chopped on to his stumps in the opening over. The pacer came back in the third over to have Brian Bennett flashing hard at outside the off-stump and was caught by third man. He could have got his third wicket if he hadn’t overstepped while castling Myers.

Myers and Marumani hit seven boundaries between themselves to lead Zimbabwe’s fight with a 44-run stand off 36 balls for the third wicket. But Washington Sundar broke the partnership by trapping a sweeping Marumani lbw with a slower delivery in the ninth over.

Myers hit Abhishek Sharma for a four and six to keep Zimbabwe on track, but Dube took him out in the 13th over with a short ball cramping the batter for room and was caught off a leading edge by backward point.

Sikandar Raza being run out in a mix-up with Johnathan Campbell by a direct hit from Dube, who took out the latter in the next over was a jolt Zimbabwe couldn’t recover from. From there, Abhishek and Tushar Deshpande got a wicket each, while Mukesh took remaining two scalps to finish with a four-fer in another convincing win for India.

Earlier, Yashasvi Jaiswal gave India a blistering start by swatting Raza for consecutive sixes on the first two balls of the innings, including off a no-ball. But Raza struck back by getting the ball to come in late and go past Jaiswal’s attempted on-drive to send the leg-stump on a walk.

Abhishek was lucky to have been dropped by Bennett at cover-point off Blessing Muzarabani, but the pacer bounced back by having the left-handed batter nick behind an angled across delivery to Madande.

Shubman Gill didn’t look much fluent in his stay at the crease, and was dismissed by Richard Ngarava when he tried to top-edged a pull to mid-on. In rebuilding India’s innings, Samson dealt majorly in boundaries – striking three wonderful sixes with his beautiful bat-swing, including a monstrous 110m hit.

Brandon Mavuta gave Zimbabwe the breakthrough when Parag miscued his loft to long-off. But Samson marched forward by smashing boundaries to get his fifty, before pulling straight to deep mid-wicket and fall for 45-ball 58 off Muzarabani.

Dube hit four cracking boundaries in his 12-ball 26 before a miscommunication with Rinku led to his run-out in the final over. Rinku lofted Faraz Akram down the ground for six, as 14 runs came off the final over.

For Zimbabwe, Blessing Muzarabani was the pick of bowlers with 2/19 in his four overs, while their fielding, despite good catches being taken, had some lapses – three dropped chances, along with some fumbles, an aspect which hurt them throughout the series apart from their feeble batting returns.

(With IANS Inputs)

Team India lifted the T20 World Cup 2024 title© AFP

Shubman Gill can wrap up his first series win as India captain today as the team take on Zimbabwe in the fourth T20I of the five-match series. India head into the contest with a 2-1 lead. After a shock defeat in the first game, India bounced back in tremendous style with a 100-run win. The third T20I was a closer affair, with a valiant Zimbabwe falling just 23 runs short. Ahead of a decisive fourth T20I, let’s take a look at India’s possible XI for the game.

1. Shubman Gill (c) – The captain stays, having been India’s top run-scorer in two of the three T20Is, including a solid 66 in the previous T20I.

2. Yashasvi Jaiswal – Having returned from the third T20I, Jaiswal contributed 36 off 27 balls and will surely keep his place in the side.

3. Abhishek Sharma – The swashbuckling southpaw may have been demoted to no. 3, but there is no case for him to be dropped for the rest of the series after his exceptional century in the second T20I.

4. Ruturaj Gaikwad – The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain has quietly adapted well to middle-order duties, and narrowly missed out on a second successive half-century in the third T20I. Gaikwad is India’s leading run-scorer in the series so far.

5. Sanju Samson (wk) – Another player who joined after India’s T20 World Cup 2024 celebrations, Samson should keep his place in the XI as the wicket-keeper batsman.

6. Rinku Singh – Rinku Singh showed his finishing power in the second T20I with a 22-ball 48, and will keep his place in the side.

7. Shivam Dube – Despite playing every game for India in the T20 World Cup, Dube is expected to continue in the XI against Zimbabwe, being one of the more senior players in the squad.

8. Washington Sundar – Washington is making a great case for a regular India spot in the post-Ravindra Jadeja era in T20Is, having impressed with both bat and ball so far in the series. He finished with figures of 3/15 and won the ‘Player of the Match’ in the third T20I.

9. Ravi Bishnoi – The leg-spinner was the world’s no. 1 T20I bowler not too long ago, and will surely play every match in the series.

10. Tushar Deshpande – With Avesh Khan going for runs in the third T20I, a debut could be on the horizon for CSK star Tushar Deshpande.

11. Khaleel Ahmed – The left-arm seamer has been brilliant up front, and showed his class once again in the third T20I, giving away just 15 runs in his four-over spell.

Team India is all set to take on Zimbabwe in the third T20I on Wednesday in Harare. Opener Abhishek Sharma broke several records with his maiden T20I century against Zimbabwe in the second T20I of the five-match series on Sunday. Abhishek’s knock helped India defeat Zimbabwe by 100 runs and level the series 1-1. This match will be a special one for India as the T20 World Cup winners Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, and Shivam Dube have also joined the squad. Shubman Gill and co are likely to make a few changes to their lineup, in order to include Jaiswal in the Playing XI.

Abhishek, the left-handed opener, did enough to live up to his pre-series hype with a 46-ball century in only his second game and did look the part opening the innings.

However, Jaiswal, with a handsome strike rate of 161 plus in 17 T20I matches, including a hundred and four half-centuries, does have the first claim to be skipper Shubman Gill’s opening partner by virtue of being the reserve opener of the first-choice T20 team.

Although rare but it is not uncommon for batters to be dropped in the very next match after a milestone innings.

But skipper Gill is unlikely to let that happen with his best friend since their U-14 days and someone who scored his first international ton with a willow borrowed from the former.

So, it could well be a case of one of the two southpaws batting at one drop. Sanju Samson, who normally bats at No. 3 for Rajasthan Royals, might come in at No.5, while Ruturaj Gaikwad, who batted at No.3, will probably drop down a place to No.4.

As far as Zimbabwe is concerned, their batting has left a lot to be desired with scores of 115 while batting first and 134 in the second essay chasing 235.

On the Harare Sports Club track where there is a bit of extra bounce available for the spinners, Ravi Bishnoi (6/24 from 8 overs) and Washington Sundar (3/39 in 8 overs) have proved to be unplayable at times.

Bishnoi, who normally bowls 20 to 22 googlies in his 24 balls per match, has varied his pace brilliantly and with home skipper Sikandar Raza being kept quiet, the other batters haven’t looked good enough to counter the Indian bowling attack.

India’s Predicted XI for the 3rd T20I: Shubman Gill (c), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad/Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

(With PTI Inputs)

India will find it tough to choose between Yashasvi Jaiswal’s seemingly effortless flamboyance and Abhishek Sharma’s uber-cool aggression at the top when they rejig their combination to make space for World Cup-winning squad members in the third T20 International against Zimbabwe in Harare on Wednesday. The arrival of Jaiswal, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube, all of whom were part of the main team during the title-winning run last month, gives the Indian team a formidable look in the most important game of the series as visitors look to press home the advantage after the booster shot of a series-levelling 100-run victory in the second match.

Abhishek, the left-handed opener, did enough to live up to his pre-series hype with a 46-ball century in only his second game and did look the part opening the innings.

However, Jaiswal, with a handsome strike rate of 161 plus in 17 T20I matches, including a hundred and four half-centuries, does have the first claim to be skipper Shubman Gill’s opening partner by virtue of being the reserve opener of the first-choice T20 team.

Although rare but it is not uncommon for batters to be dropped in the very next match after a milestone innings.

Case in point were Manoj Tiwary, immediately after his maiden ODI hundred against the West Indies in 2011, and Karun Nair after his triple hundred in a Test match against England in 2016.

But skipper Gill is unlikely to let that happen with his best friend since their U-14 days and someone who scored his first international ton with a willow borrowed from the former.

So, it could well be a case of one of the two southpaws batting at one drop. Sanju Samson, who normally bats at No. 3 for Rajasthan Royals, might come in at No.5, while Ruturaj Gaikwad, who batted at No.3, will probably drop down a place to No.4.

As far as the changes in the playing eleven are concerned, Jaiswal is likely to replace B Sai Sudharsan, who was selected only for the first two games.

Samson will come in place of Dhruv Jurel, who had a good outing behind the stumps.

Dube, the only player who was a part of T20 World Cup playing XI, is likely to walk in to replace Riyan Parag. The imposing batter could be an even bigger nemesis for the Zimbabwean spinners during the back-10.

As far as Zimbabwe is concerned, their batting has left a lot to be desired with scores of 115 while batting first and 134 in the second essay chasing 235.

On the Harare Sports Club track where there is a bit of extra bounce available for the spinners, Ravi Bishnoi (6/24 from 8 overs) and Washington Sundar (3/39 in 8 overs) have proved to be unplayable at times.

Bishnoi, who normally bowls 20 to 22 googlies in his 24 balls per match, has varied his pace brilliantly and with home skipper Sikandar Raza being kept quiet, the other batters haven’t looked good enough to counter the Indian bowling attack.

The 13-run shock defeat in the opener was a timely wake-up call for the young visiting side and it did well to play without five specialist bowlers in the second game where batting first became an advantage.

For skipper Gill, a good score would be a necessity after two dry games and he is just too good a player to fail thrice. That could prove to be an ominous sign for the home team bowlers, who don’t have even one guy with express pace.

In a nutshell, it could be another one-sided game.

India: Shubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Khaleel Ahmed, Tushar Deshpande.

Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (captain), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Johnathan Campbell, Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Brandon Mavuta, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Antum Naqvi, Richard Ngarava, Milton Shumba.