Watch: Zimbabwe welcomes ‘T20 World Cup champions’ India after VVS Laxman’s side touch down ahead of five-match series

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had said on Tuesday that Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana will be filling in for Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson in the first two T20Is of the series. Jaiswal, Dube and Samson were originally slated to join the Zimbabwe-bound squad for the series which starts on Saturday. However, the trio will travel with the rest of the Rohit Sharma-led squad back to India before departing for Zimbabwe after the side beat South Africa in a thrilling final in Barbados to win their first ICC title in over a decade.

Rinku Singh and Khaleel Ahmed were also part of the travelling reserves and they will also join the squad later as they were stranded in Barbados due to hurricane Beryl. Gill was among the travelling reserves for the T20 World Cup but was released after India’s group stage games were done in New York. Gill then took a break and will link up with the Zimbabwe-bound squad directly in Harare from the US, according to PTI.

A chance to see the future of the Indian T20I team

The team will be coached by former batter and National Cricket Academy head VVS Laxman. Sudharsan has played under Gill’s captaincy with the Gujarat Titans in the 2024 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The BCCI had earlier announced that the squad has left for Harare sharing pictures of players like Abhishek Sharma, Mukesh Kumar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Avesh Khan, and Riyan Parag.

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.