Shubman Gill to lead Team India against Zimbabwe; Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma get maiden call-ups for T20I series

Indian batter Shubman Gill has been appointed as the leader of the Rohit Sharma-less side for the upcoming white-ball series against Zimbabwe on Monday. Gill travelled to the United States of America (USA) as a reserve player for Team India's T20 World Cup campaign. However, Gill was later released from the T20 World Cup squad ahead of the business end of the ICC event.

Skipper Rohit, seasoned campaigners Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested for the Zimbabwe tour. Taking over the captaincy reins from Hardik, Gill captained former Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 2024 edition of the cash-rich tournament. Rajasthan Royals (RR) stars Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel have been roped in as wicketkeepers for the Zimbabwe series.

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Riyan Parag gets maiden call-up for Zimbabwe tour

Joining the RR duo for the T20Is, premier batter Riyan Parag has earned his maiden India cap after an impressive season in the IPL 2024. Parag finished third in the Orange Cap standings as only India openers Ruturaj Gaikwad (583) and Virat Kohli (741) scored more runs than the RR batter at the IPL 2024.

Nitish Reddy joins Abhishek Sharma in India squad

India's new recruit for the Zimbabwe tour, Parag, smashed 573 in 16 games of the IPL 2024. Sunrisers Hyderabad all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy also received his first India call-up for the upcoming series. Reddy was awarded the Emerging Player title for the 2024 IPL season. The SRH all-rounder scored 303 runs at an average of 33.67 and a strike rate of 142.92 last season.

Reddy’s teammate at SRH, opener Abhishek Sharma is also set to make his India debut in Zimbabwe. The SRH opener capped off an impressive season with Pat Cummins and Co. in the IPL. Youngster Abhishek accumulated 484 runs in 16 games of the IPL 2024. India’s young squad also features Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Rinku Singh and Tushar Deshpande.

India's squad for the Zimbabwe series:

Ꮪhubman 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.