India have called up Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag and Nitish Reddy for their five-match T20I tour of Zimbabwe. Shubman Gill has been named captain of a youthful squad which also features the likes of Tushar Deshpande and Dhruv Jurel.
Full squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.
Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Abhishek Sharma gets his maiden call-up after an impressive IPL season this year, where he ended up as the highest six-hitter (42 in 16 games) in the tournament. Riyan Parag, who ranked third (573 runs) in the run-getters list in what was his breakthrough season with Rajasthan Royals, also makes his way into the squad for the first time. That both batters are also handy spin option only added to their case.
The stocks for Dhruv Jurel, who had an impressive start to his Test career with a handful of high-pressure knocks against England, continue to rise. However, Jurel had an underwhelming IPL this year but his abilities as a lower-order hitter seems to have boosted his case.
Nitish Reddy’s all-round potential also sees him make the cut as India continue to seek a backup for Hardik Pandya. The SRH batter impressed with his batting but his bowling remains a work in progress.
Tushar Deshpande is the other uncapped player in the list and the Mumbai pacer has impressed with his domestic performances apart from consistent back-to-back seasons with the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.
The rest of the squad contains the usual suspects who, by default or design, have made regular appearances for India in the past 24-36 months. Sanju Samson is expected to be the primary wicket-keeper batter, with Jurel as the back up option. Ruturaj Gaikwad is back in the mix and it will be interesting to see where he bats, given that skipper Gill is also an opening batter. With Yashasvi Jaiswal also in the mix, one of the trio might have to bat at three.
Meanwhile, Khaleel Ahmed is set for a potential comeback after being named in the squad. The left-arm pacer did make it to the travelling reserves of the T20 World Cup squad but hasn’t played an international match since 2019. Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar are the other pace options in the side while Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi are the specialist spinners in the squad.
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.
