New Delhi: India will take on Zimbabwe in the 1st T20I at the Harare Sports club, Harare on July 6, Saturday. Shubman Gill will take charge of the young Indian team in the series and will look to establish himself in T20Is. After the retirement of Indian openers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from T20Is, there is an opportunity for Gill to cement his place in the team.
Gill was also the travelling reserve in the T20 World Cup 2024 but later came back home when India finished the group stage and travelled to West Indies for the Super Eight. Gill will lead the second-string Indian side and also one of the senior members in the team consisting of several new names.
India will play a five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe with all five matches in Harare. Zimbabwe recently won a match against Bangladesh and gave a tough fight in the series. The Men in Blue have six players who will be debuting for India in the series. The likes of Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal will miss the first two matches because of the felicitation ceremony in India and will join the team after the second T20I.
“I think Rohit Bhai was an opener and Virat Bhai also opened in this World Cup…I have also opened in T20s. So, I think I will want to open in T20Is,” Gill said on the opening slot in the Zimbabwe series.
Gill also said Abhishek Sharma will open with him and Ruturaj Gaikwad will bat at the no. 3 position. Gill’s IPL performance was under-par for Gujarat Titans last season he has not played a T20 game since the conclusion of IPL 2024.
Will Abhishek Sharma replicate his IPL form?
Abhishek Sharma will open with Gill in the series opener against Zimbabwe on Saturday and will be looking to replicate his heroics from IPL 2024. Abhishek was all busy after the IPL final as he played club matches at Gurgaon before featuring in the Sher-E-Punjab T20 competition in Punjab. But his performance was average in the local league as he managed only three 30+ scores in 11 matches.
Nonetheless, Abhishek had a great IPL season for Sunrisers Hyderabad and will be hoping to make the most of his opportunities in his debut T20I series for India.
Shubman Gill will be leading India against Zimbabwe in a five-match T20I series. Gill look to capitalise the opportunity to fill up the opening slot in India’s T20I team. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
