KL Rahul-led Team India will embark on a three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe, with the first encounter scheduled to be played on August 18 (Thursday) at the Harare Sports Club. 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.
Talentwise, Zimbabwe should be no match for the Men in Blue despite the visitors not fielding their best possible playing XI. The second-string Indian side boasts the experience and pedigree to compete with the best international sides in the world. But still, cricket is a funny old game and India would look to avoid a major embarrassment at all costs. The hosts are the underdogs and have absolutely nothing to lose. This is exactly why India needs to be cautious and get the job done without any hiccups.
Also, Zimbabwe registered an emphatic series win against Bangladesh earlier in the month. The confidence of their players would be sky-high after they defeated a good Bangladesh side 2-1 in ODIs.
KL Rahul returns
Barring a major setback at the eleventh hour, the waiting game will finally end for KL Rahul, who has been away from the game for over two months owing to injuries and COVID-19. The last time Rahul was among the thick of things, the 30-year-old looked at his imperious best.
The elegant right-handed batter ended IPL 2022 with 616 runs (second-most after Jos Buttler's tally of 863 runs) in 15 matches with the help of four half-centuries and two tons. But just when he was getting ready to take international cricket by storm, an agonising injury became an impediment.
The Lucknow Super Giants would like to ease back into international cricket after a lengthy break and what better opposition to find form than Zimbabwe? It would be interesting to see what position Rahul comes out to bat. With Shubman Gill in the squad, the Indian captain might push himself to the middle-order, a place where he has enjoyed a ton of success.
Focus on Deepak Chahar
Apart from Rahul, all eyes will be on Deepak Chahar, who marks his return to the national setup after six months. Once shaping up to be India's premier fast bowling option in T20Is, the Chennai Super Kings' spearhead has fallen down in the pecking order after suffering an injury earlier in the year.
With five quality fast bowling options, Chahar might have to wait a bit more to make his much-awaited return. Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan are the front-runners to constitute India's pace battery.
India needs to be wary of Raza
It seems Sikandar Raza has been around Zimbabwe cricket forever. The veteran's contribution to Zimbabwe cricket in the last decade has been immense the right-handed batter is probably playing the best cricket of his career now. Raza won the Man of the Series award after Zimbabwe won the series against Bangladesh for his maverick batting.
The 36-year-old smashed two hundreds in three matches and ended the series as the leading run-scorer with 252 runs. He also led all players in wickets taken in the series with five scalps in three matches.
Raza has the experience of playing against India. He has played 10 matches against the Men in Blue, aggregating a tally of 245 runs with the help of one half-century.
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
