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India and Zimbabwe will kick off their three-match ODI series campaign on Thursday (August 18). While the stalwarts of Indian cricket like regular captain Rohit Sharma and ace batter Virat Kohli have been rested, the series offers another golden opportunity to fringe players to make a solid case for themselves in the long run.
However, on paper Zimbabwe are a minnow side in comparison with the star studded Team India but the hosts registered an emphatic series win against Bangladesh earlier in the month and the confidence of their players would be sky-high after they defeated a good Bangladesh side 2-1 in ODIs.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe's batting coach Lance Klusener gave a big statement on Virat Kohli right ahead of the ODI series opener. Klusener said that it's a missed opportunity for Kohli while taking a dig at the difference of opinion between the high-profile batter and Indian Team's selectors.
"I haven’t followed Virat’s progress too much. However, if he wasn’t playing much cricket this series would have been ideal opportunity for him before the Asia Cup 2022 and the T20 World Cup 2022. This might have been a missed opportunity for him, we would have loved to see him here and have the chance to play against him as well. However, I guess thoughts of Kohli and selectors were different but chance to get some runs before big competitions is always good. He’s a fantastic cricketer and he’s going to be back to where he was I am sure. I would just like to wish him all the best to come out of the slump in form," former Afghanistan's head coach told Zee News.
Klusener also shared his thoughts on the India-Zimbabwe playing bilateral series after a long time and on the importance of the series.
"We are definitely looking forward to this series. It is a big occasion when you get to play against one of the best teams in the world. We have got India now and then head to Australia next week, so a tough couple of weeks for us. It is always great for the boys to test themselves against the best in the world. On any given day, we can be a handful for any team out there," he added.
This will be India's first-ever tour of Zimbabwe since 2016, when they had travelled to the African nation for a three-match T20I series.
Head-to-Head
India and Zimbabwe have squared off against each other in 63 ODIs so far with the former winning 51 matches while the latter emerged triumphant on 10 occasions. Two matches ended in a No Result.
India's likely XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (C), Sanju Samson/Ishan Kishan (wk), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur/Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan.
Zimbabwe's likely XI: Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Innocent Kaia, Sean Williams, Sikandar Raza, Regis Chakabva (c&wk), Tony Munyonga, Luke Jongwe, Brad Evans, Victor Nyauchi, Tanaka Chivanga
