Shubman Gill-led Team India began their preparations for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe with their first training session in Harare on Wednesday. Gill will be leading a second-string Indian side in the Zimbabwe series consisting of several exciting youngsters, who were rewarded for their terrific show in the IPL 2024.
Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma and Tushar Deshpande earned their maiden India call-ups when BCCI announced India’s squad for the Zimbabwe tour last month. Harshit Rana and Sai Sudharsan also earned their maiden T20 call-ups after they were added to the squad for the first two T20Is on Tuesday.
Gill will be leading India for the first time having gained captaincy experience after leading his franchise Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2024. BCCI have included news faces in the squad as the main Indian squad will be rested after their triumph in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024. With Rahul Dravid’s stint over, VVS Laxman will serve as the interim coach of the Indian team in Zimbabwe.
The Indian team sweated it out in their first practice session in Harare ahead of the T20I series opener which will be played on Saturday, July 06. Gill was seen training alongside Abhishek, who is his good friend as the duo hail from Punjab and have played together for several years now.
Some pics of Abhishek Sharma & Shubman Gill during the Practise Session ahead of Zimbabwe vs India T20I Series 🇮🇳💙.
– Punjab Boys Reunion. 💙🇮🇳#AbhishekSharma | #ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/8zZF4uzqom
— Abhishek Sharma Fan (@Abhishek_Fan_) July 3, 2024
Zimbabwe series chance for youngsters to impress
The T20I series against Zimbabwe is an opportunity for the youngsters to grab their chances and stake a claim for a permanent spot in the T20I squad. The likes of Parag, Rana, Deshpande and Sudharsan will be hoping to take their chances and make the most of them. Gill will be also hoping to make a mark in his debut series as captain and become a part of India’s leadership group in white-ball cricket going forward.
Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma were spotted training together as Team India had their first practice session in Zimbabwe ahead of the five-match T20I series between the two teams. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
