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)

Abhishek Sharma was at his best in second T20I against Zimbabwe.© AFP

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.

Chirag Shetty has lashed out at the government for not treating all sports equally.© AFP

As India’s five-match T20I tour to Zimbabwe gets underway on Saturday, July 6, three stalwarts – Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shivam Dube – are not playing in the first T20I despite being part of the squad. The reason for their absence is that the trio were part of India’s 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad, which caught stuck in Barbados till Wednesday due to Hurricane Beryl, and then spent the entire Thursday celebrating in Delhi and Mumbai. The trio have departed for Zimbabwe capital Harare in the early hours of Saturday morning, and are expected to feature from the third T20I.

The first two T20Is of the tour to Zimbabwe take place on back-to-back days, on July 6 and 7, meaning that Samson, Jaiswal and Dube won’t get enough time to prepare before the second T20I, instead expecting to play from the third T20I on July 10.

The T20I series is crucial for Samson and Jaiswal, who did not play a single game in the T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Dube was included in the squad for the Zimbabwe tour despite playing every game of the T20 World Cup, as a replacement for the injured Nitish Reddy.

Samson enjoyed the best IPL season of his career in 2024, scoring 531 runs, but had to play second-fiddle to Rishabh Pant for the wicket-keeper spot in Team India. Jaiswal also had to accept a back-up role to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, despite piling up more than 1,000 runs in the two most recent IPL seasons.

With Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja retired from T20Is, impressing across five games in the Zimbabwe tour could pave the pathway to a regular Team India spot for some of the youngsters.

Shubman Gill, who narrowly missed out on India’s T20 World Cup squad, is leading Team India in Zimbabwe. Samson’s Rajasthan Royals teammates Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel made their T20I debut in the first Zimbabwe game, as did Abhishek Sharma.

The BCCI cannot prioritise one city over another when it comes to organising important finals, said board’s vice-president on Friday in response to Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray’s demand. Following a massive turnout during Indian cricket team’s T20 World Cup victory parade on Marine Drive to the Wankhede Stadium, Thackeray had urged BCCI to not “take away” any final match from Mumbai. “Yesterday’s celebration in Mumbai is also a strong message to the BCCI… Never take away a World Cup final from Mumbai!,” Thackeray had written on X.

“It is BCCI’s policy that where the final should take place. It cannot always be given to a particular city,” Shukla told PTI on Friday.

The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai hosted the 2023 ODI World Cup semifinal whereas the world’s largest stadium in terms of sitting capacity, in Ahmedabad, was the venue for the final.

“There has been a final match — 1987 World Cup — in Kolkata also, and Kolkata is considered as Mecca. So it can’t be decided that it should always happen in a particular city,” Shukla said.

“There are semi-finals and finals which have taken place in Mumbai. Similarly, Ahmedabad ground has got a capacity of 1,30,000, and we go by capacity also,” he continued.

“Kolkata (Eden Gardens) has got a big capacity, around 80,000 spectators (approx. 66,000) can be accommodated. Similarly, other cities also.

“This is purely a decision keeping in mind the entire country and all the venues. You cannot confine to one venue,” explained the senior board official.

Shukla said it will not be correct to remain confined to a specific venue for hosting key matches.

He also praised fans in Mumbai for turning up in large numbers for the open bus parade and hailed the Mumbai Police for smoothly managing the show.

“We were really delighted to see Mumbaikars and their response. Mumbai is always our priority. It’s not that (it is not). But it has to be decided by the entire BCCI, where to host finals, where to have semi-finals… Every match is important,” he said.

“Mumbai is always on our priority list. But saying that all the finals should take place in one city… It never happens in any country,” Shukla added.

Team India celebrate their T20 World Cup 2024 win.© AFP

Winning team members of the T20 World Cup Champion India, captain Rohit Sharma, batters Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, Yashasvi Jaiswal and the bowling coach met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in Mumbai on Friday. The Chief Minister facilitated victorious members of the Indian team with shawls and idols of Lord Ganesha, congratulating the Indian players for the victory. Following their meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, the players departed for Mumbai on Thursday. In Mumbai, the Men in Blue had an open bus victory parade from Marine Drive to the iconic Wankhede Stadium.

The parade was an affair to remember and marvel at, as thousands of fans gathered at Marine Drive and surrounded the bus before it could even get Indian players on it.

After their arrival at the Wankhede Stadium, the Indian cricket players danced to the tunes of dhol at the event, which is being held here after their victory parade.

The team went to Wankhede amid cheers, chants, and claps from passionate fans. At the Wankhede, they were felicitated with the prize money of Rs 125 crore by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) office-bearers.

Throughout the parade, players were seen lifting the coveted trophy high in the air and appreciating the support of their fans. The love of the fans was clearly visible when some of them climbed on the tree and cheered for the team as the bus went past them.

Players also talked about their win, and the performances of key players in the T20 World Cup inside a jam-packed Wankhede and danced their hearts out. The event also featured the players taking a victory lap to the tune of the country’s national song, ‘Vande Mataram’.

Earlier on Thursday, after landing in New Delhi, Team India went to meet the Prime Minister. PM Modi held a breakfast for the ICC T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team. During their meeting with the Prime Minister, the Men in Blue wore a special jersey sporting two stars over the BCCI’s emblem. The stars represented the two T20 World Cup wins. The word ‘CHAMPIONS’ was written on the jersey in bold letters.

Team management, BCCI President Roger Binny, and Secretary Jay Shah were also present. After the meeting with the Prime Minister, the T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament award winner, Bumrah, stated that it was an honour to be invited to PM Modi’s residence for breakfast and thanked him for the hospitality that he showed.

A young-Indian cricket team under National Cricket Academy head VVS Laxman left for Zimbabwe to play a five-match T20I series starting in Harare on July 6. The team will be led by Shubman Gill while the likes of youngsters Riyan Parag and Abhishek Sharma have been rewarded for their exploits in the last IPL with maiden India call-ups. Skipper Gill, the reserve opener for the T20 World Cup, was on a break and will link up with the Zimbabwe-bound squad directly in Harare from the US.

The BCCI took to X to post pictures of those who boarded the flight, which includes Sharma, Parag, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Tushar Deshpande and NCA head Laxman.

Five members of the squad — Shivam Dube, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh and Khaleel Ahmed were either part of the T20 World Cup-winning team or were travelling reserves are stranded in Barbados due to hurricane Beryl. They will join the squad later.

With Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retiring form the shortest format of the game, the T20 series against Zimbabwe will provide the youngsters with the perfect opportunity to cement their places in the team for future series.

Jet

Set

Zimbabwe #TeamIndia | #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/q3sFz639z7

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 1, 2024

pic.twitter.com/todNGWOyxM

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 1, 2024

India’s squad for T20I series against Zimbabwe: Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.

Former New Zealand cricketer Stephen Fleming opened up on Team India leaving Yashasvi Jaiswal on the bench in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, and said that the Men in Blue had to make a hard call while making such a decision. Jaiswal is yet to make his debut in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 as the Men in Blue team management decided to go with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli opening for the team. The 22-year-old made his T20I debut in 2023 against West Indies, following that he scored 502 runs after playing in 17 matches and 16 innings. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Jaiswal scored 435 runs after playing 15 matches for the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Speaking exclusively to the ‘ESPNCricinfo Timeout show’, Fleming said that leaving out ‘top quality’ players is always difficult for a team. He also showered praise on the Men in Blue and said that they have spinners who can dominate in the West Indies.

“They had to make some hard calls. While Jaiswal was a great player, having a plan and you stay to it when you’ve got great players sitting on the sidelines is always very difficult because it’s tempting to keep looking where the grass is greener, but I like the job they’ve done, they’ve got through. This is a team that in some ways is picked for the finals in my view, it’s a team that has spinners that can dominate, it has players that can dominate spin and we’ve seen spin in the West Indies play quite a big part, not so much in New York,” Fleming was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

India will be aiming to do well against Afghanistan (June 20), Bangladesh (June 22) and Australia (24) and register big wins in order to qualify for the semifinals and end India’s drought for an ICC trophy since 2013’s Champions Trophy and also win their first T20 WC since 2007’s inaugural edition in South Africa.

The Men in Blue have displayed a stupendous performance in the group stage of the marquee event and finished at the top of the Group A table with seven points.

Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj.