Shubman Gill to lead India in Zimbabwe for five T20s
NEW DELHI (AP) — Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and wicketkeeper Sanju Samson are the only Twenty20 World Cup players picked for India's T20 tour of Zimbabwe next month.
The rest of the World Cup squad is being rested after the tournament in the West Indies and the United States. Jaiswal and Samson are yet to get a game in the World Cup.
The squad is captained by batter Shubman Gill, who travelled with India at the World Cup as a reserve. He was released before the Super Eight to allow him time to prepare for the five-match series in Zimbabwe from July 6-14. All of the games will be at Harare Sports Club.
Middle-order batter Rinku Singh, whose absence from the T20 World Cup squad sparked much debate, was going to Zimbabwe. He was also a travelling reserve at the World Cup.
Indian Premier League performances informed most of the selection.
Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag and Tushar Deshpande have been rewarded for their consistency.
Sharma scored 484 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 204.22 for Sunriser Hyderabad.
Parag scored 573 runs for Rajasthan Royals, including four half-centuries, on the back of a strong showing for Assam in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s state-wide domestic T20 tournament.
Deshpande has taken 38 wickets over the last two seasons for Chennai Super Kings.
Other notable inclusions were Ruturaj Gaikwad, who took over Chennai’s captaincy from MS Dhoni, and allrounder Nitish Reddy, who impressed for Hyderabad in the second half of the season.
Coach Rahul Dravid is stepping down after the T20 World Cup. Former opener and 50-over World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir is widely expected to be named the new coach. However, VVS Laxman, who handles the National Cricket Academy, is expected to coach the squad in Zimbabwe.
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India: Ꮪhubman Gill (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
