THE India national cricket team arrives in the country this evening for three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and two T20s against Zimbabwe, starting Friday.
All matches will be played at Harare Sports Club.
Zimbabwe Cricket media and communications manager Lovemore Banda confirmed that the Asians will jet in at 1710hrs.
Zimbabwe is coming from a tour of Pakistan the first by any international side since 2009, where they lost all the matches and will be looking to redeem themselves in front of their home side, especially against a second string Indian side.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) medical team yesterday confirmed that leg-spinner Karn Sharma has been ruled out of India’s tour of Zimbabwe owing to injury in his hand.
“Karn has fractured his left middle finger. There will be no replacement for him for the Zimbabwe tour,” the BCCI said.
Taking note of the fatigue factor, India has fielded a second string team for the tour of Zimbabwe and senior players such as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, R. Ashwin and Umesh Yadav have been rested.
The national selectors have placed lot of youngsters in the squad of 15.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Indian batsman, Ajinkya Rahane, who has been selected to lead the side in the series against Zimbabwe, admitted that he was surprised with the captaincy role assigned to him.
The Indian selectors, decided to rest senior players like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli among others, while handing over the reins of the team to Rahane.
Aware of his capabilities, Rahane opined that he gained the confidence from the experience of playing at the highest level for the last few years.
“I know how capable I am and I believe in myself. I have learned a lot from whatever cricket I have played in the last 4-5 years,” said Rahane in an interview to The Board of Control for Cricket in India’s official website.
“I wasn’t thinking about the captaincy.
“I didn’t know about it. It came as a surprise, but whatever domestic and international cricket I’ve played gave me confidence. “I am a very hardworking guy. I always want to be the best in the world and I know my capabilities.”
Rahane, has the experience of captaincy from the days when he was leading the Mumbai Under-19 side, while he has a wealth of experience playing under captains like Rahul Dravid and Dhoni.
The 27-year-old, looks to draw a particular quality from each of the captain, he has played under – the calmness of Dhoni, the aggression of Kohli and finally the simplicity of Dravid.
“Playing under Dhoni, I observed how he would be calm on the field.
“He has a very peculiar and calm way of handling situations. I would like to take that quality from him.
“What I would like to take from Kohli would be controlled aggression.
“You can see that quality in his batting and his captaincy.
“And finally, Rahul bhai is someone who likes to keep things really simple on the field, which I got to know while playing under him with the Rajasthan Royals.”
Rahane will lead a side that consists of players like Harbhajan Singh and Robin Uthappa, who will look to make a comeback, whereas there will be names like Kedar Jadhav and Sandeep Sharma, who will be keen to make an impression.
Asserting that he will always lead by example, Rahane opined that his approach will be to back the players as he gives them confidence.
Rahane also feels that the lack of senior players will pose a challenge while he stated that he will not take Zimbabwe lightly.
“As a captain I believe it is always important to back your players and give them confidence. I want to lead by example and be positive at all times.
“It is a challenge to lead a side that doesn’t have the services of the seniors, but every international tour is challenging. “We take every opposition seriously and Zimbabwe is no different.”
India team: Ajinkya Rahane ( Captain), Murali Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwari, Kedar Jadhav, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Harbajan Singh, Akshar Patel, Karn Sharma (ruled out), Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma and Sandeep Sharma.
l 1st ODI: Zimbabwe v India at Harare on Jul 10, 2015 (09:00 local | 07:00 GMT)
l 2nd ODI: Zimbabwe v India at Harare on Jul 12, 2015 (09:00 local | 07:00 GMT)
l 3rd ODI: Zimbabwe v India at Harare on Jul 14, 2015 (09:00 local | 07:00 GMT)
l 1st T20I: Zimbabwe v India at Harare on Jul 17, 2015 (13:00 local | 11:00 GMT)
l 2nd T20I: Zimbabwe v India at Harare on Jul 19, 2015 (13:00 local | 11:00 GMT)
—SPORTS REPORTER/ONLINE
