Stranded T20 World Cup 2024 winning players Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, and Sanju Samson have been replaced with Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana for the first two T20 International matches of the upcoming India vs Zimbabwe five-match series, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Tuesday.
The five-match series will start on Saturday (July 6).
The trio -- Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, and Sanju Samson were slated to join the Indian squad for series on Saturday but got stranded in Barbados along with other World Cup heroes due to Hurricane Beryl. The Barbados airport was shut down and flights cancelled as the hurricane intensified.
Now they will travel back to India with the rest of the Rohit Sharma-led squad, and then head to Zimbabwe for the series.
Coached by former batter and National Cricket Academy head VVS Laxman, the Indian team for India vs Zimbabwe series will be captained by Shubman Gill.
Shivam Dube was initially not a part of this team but was added to the squad in place of injured Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Shubman Gill (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Harshit Rana
Notably, this will not be the first time Sudharsan will be playing under Gill's captaincy; he was a part of Gujarat Titans in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Earlier today, BCCI had shared that the squad has left for Harare. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), it shared pictures of players Abhishek Sharma, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Riyan Parag.
The series against Zimbabwe signifies a new era for India's T20I squad as they gear up for a future without Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja, who all retired from the format following their World Cup victory.
