The Indian men’s cricket team, captained by opener KL Rahul, departed for Zimbabwe on Saturday morning in preparation for the three-match ODI series, beginning on August 18. The other two games will be played at the Harare Sports Club on August 20 and 22.
India enters the series following their 3-0 victory over the West Indies in Trinidad in July. On the other hand, Zimbabwe is in good spirits following an amazing 2-1 series victory against Bangladesh at home.
Rahul, who was included in the team on August 11, will lead India. Shikhar Dhawan, who had been named captain, will step down from his position as leader and be replaced by him.
Rahul last played in a competitive game of cricket on May 25 in Kolkata during the IPL 2022 Eliminator. At Eden Gardens, his team, the rookie Lucknow Super Giants, was defeated by Royal Challengers Bangalore by a score of 14 runs.
The five-match T20I series against South Africa at home in June was then announced with Rahul serving as captain. However, a groyne ailment on the eve of the opening game in New Delhi forced him to withdraw from the series. Rahul’s participation in the tours of England and Ireland was also cancelled due to the sports hernia surgery in Germany.
He was supposed to return for India’s T20I series against the West Indies, however because of a positive Covid-19 test before the visit, he was left out of the Caribbean trip. But Rahul is now totally fit to return to action for India in ODIs against Zimbabwe, followed by Asia Cup in the UAE commencing on August 27, just in time for the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Chahar makes his return to the Indian team in the ODIs against Zimbabwe after being absent for nearly six months. Chahar was injured while playing for India in the final T20I match against West Indies in Kolkata. He was subsequently unable to participate in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
Chahar sustained a back injury while at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for additional management and injury recuperation, preventing him from participating in the IPL 2022 for Chennai Super Kings. Rahul Tripathi, who was a member of India’s T20I squad for the Ireland visit, has received his first ODI call-up.
Kuldeep Yadav, who participated in the fifth Twenty20 International against the West Indies while recovering from a right hand injury, is also included in the team.
The following players will represent India in the three one-day internationals: KL Rahul (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasid Krishna, Mohammad Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
