The BCCI selection committee picked India's 15-member squad for the upcoming five-match T20 series against Zimbabwe in July. Shubman Gill is set to lead the second-string side with Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Riyan Parag and Tushar Deshpande getting their maiden call-ups for the national side. Dhruv Jurel, who has played three Tests for India, has earned a call-up in T20Is for the first time.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Washington Sundar returned to the fold while the reserves and the players on the bench during the ongoing T20 World Cup also being picked. Hence, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Avesh Khan and Khaleel Ahmed will travel to Zimbabwe for the five-match series.
While there were many other performers in IPL 2024, who deserved to get a call-up, but none more than pacer Harshit Rana, who was the fifth leading wicket-taker in the tournament. One of the stars of Kolkata Knight Riders' title win, Rana took 19 wickets in the season and was sensational with the ball in all phases of the match whether in the powerplay, at the death and in the middle overs as well. However, Tushar Deshpande was picked over him as the fourth pace-bowling option.
After being ignored, Harshit Rana shared a cryptic post on Instagram saying, "Everything will come to you at the perfect time." Varun Chakravarthy, who also had a sensational IPL 2024, was also among the few players to not get picked alongside Tilak Varma and Rajat Patidar.
The five-match series begins on July 6 and ends on July 14 with all five matches set to take place at the Harare Sports Club.
India's squad for five-match T20 series against Zimbabwe: 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.
