India XI vs Zimbabwe

India will begin a new cycle in T20Is following their T20 World Cup victory in the Caribbean and the retirement of several seniors. In the 15-strong squad for the first two T20Is in Zimbabwe, as many as six players are uncappedin the shortest format, implying there will be a minimum of two debutants in the first game of the series.

Before diving into the potential options for various slots in the XI, let's have a look at the squad for the first two games:

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

Top order - 1, 2, 3

Shubman Gill will lead India in international cricket for the first time during the Zimbabwe series. He is certain to occupy one of the two openers' spots and will want to improve on his T20I record during the course of the series.

India have several options to partner Gill. The experienced Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was the second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2024, the swashbckling Abhishek Sharma, who lit up IPL 2024 with his brazen strokeplay, and the assured Sai Sudharshan, who was called up at the last moment to replace Yashashvi Jaiswal.

Jaiswal would have been a certainty alongside Gill had he been available, but in his absence, India will have the opportunity to give Abhishek Sharma his preferred spot at the top of the order and let him have the maximum impact on the game. Gaikwad can then slot in at No.3, as he did on several occasions for CSK last season.

Also read: Five candidates to be the leading run scorer in the India vs Zimbabwe T20I series

Middle order - 4, 5, 6

Sanju Samson would have slotted in at No.4, but his unavailability for the first two matches opens up a chance for Riyan Parag. After promising for several years, Parag finally delivered in IPL 2024, scoring more than 500 runs and securing a maiden India call up.

Rinku Singh and Dhruv Jurel can make up No.5 and 6, and rotate depending upon the match situation. Jurel will also fill in the wicketkeeper's role. Jitesh Sharma is the other keeping option, but since Jurel was picked in the main squad and Jitesh has only come in as a replacement, expect Jurel to get a game before Jitesh.

All-rounder - 7

Washington Sundar is the only pure all-rounder in the squad who can fill in the No.7 spot. India can also look to fit in Harshit Rana in the XI. He had a terrific season with the ball for KKR but also has big-hitting abilitiesthat can add depth to India's XI. However, he wasn't picked in the initial squad for the series and was only called in as a replacement, indicating other bowlers in the squad might be preferred over him.

Bowlers - 8, 9, 10, 11

Ravi Bishnoi is the only frontline spinner in the squad. He will take up the No.8 spot given he's also arguably the best batters among the bowling options India have apart from Rana.

Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, and Tushar Deshpande are the seam-bowling options who will compete for three spots. Deshpande is the only uncapped player among these, and might have to wait for his turn to feature in the XI till the latter half of the series.

Mukesh, Khaleel, who's making a comeback to the international setup, and Avesh, who was a travelling reserve at the T20 World Cup like Khaleel, can be expected to make up the fast bowling lineup for the first India-Zimbabwe T20I.

Predicted India XI for first Zimbabwe T20I

Shubman Gill (c)
Abhishek Sharma
Ruturaj Gaikwad
Riyan Parag
Dhruv Jurel (wk)
Rinku Singh
Washington Sundar
Ravi Bishnoi
Avesh Khan
Khaleel Ahmed
Mukesh Kumar

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