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India vs Zimbabwe T20 Series: During the Zimbabwe tour, India’s youth team will play a 3-match T20 series at Harare Sports Club. The first match of the series will be held on 23 July, after which both the teams will face each other on 25 and 26 July. After losing both the T20 series in Ireland and England, there will be immense pressure on Shreyas Iyer to give India its first win under his captaincy.

As captain, Shreyas Iyer lost the T20 series against Ireland 0-2. After this, India had to face 0-4 defeat in the 5-match T20 series against England. Iyer equaled Mahendra Singh Dhoni by winning the toss in all seven matches, but could not win even a single match in his favor. Shreyas will look at this tour as an opportunity to regain confidence and build momentum with a less experienced team.

Laxman will take over the role of coach

In this series, VVS Laxman will be seen in the role of coach in the absence of regular coach Gautam Gambhir. The young Indian team would like to take advantage of Laxman’s experience and win the series. All eyes will be on his approach to team balance and selection.

All eyes fixed on Vaibhav Suryavanshi

Apart from Laxman, all eyes will be on 15-year-old opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi in this series. It is expected that he will be seen opening with Abhishek Sharma in the series. Harare Sports Club has been a good ground for both the batsmen. Abhishek had made his mark in international cricket with his maiden T20 century at this ground, while Suryavanshi had played a brilliant inning of 175 runs here during the Under-19 World Cup final earlier this year.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi was given a chance to play three matches of the T20 series on the England tour. In his first series for the senior team, Vaibhav did not perform as per expectations. He could score only 14, 13 and 15 runs in three innings. Now they will have a chance to open their hands against Zimbabwe.

Indian batting will be tested

However, the conditions may test India’s batting. The Harare pitch is generally known for its fast pace and bounce, which will make Zimbabwe’s experienced fast bowlers Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarwa a force to be reckoned with. If India has to avoid faltering in batting, it will have to show more discipline against the new ball.

Pressure on Tilak Verma to perform well

Meanwhile, there are complications regarding selection in the middle order also. Vice-captain Tilak Verma has not yet been able to settle at number 5, while Ishan Kishan is currently playing at the preferred number 3 position. Rinku Singh remains a strong finisher, making his batting combinations an interesting topic of discussion. India will also have to choose between Harsh Dubey, Shivam Dubey and Suryansh Shedge for the role of all-rounder. Meanwhile, Prince Yadav and Mayank Yadav are expected to be included in the fast bowling attack.

India has the upper hand against Zimbabwe

A total of 14 T20 matches have been played between India and Zimbabwe since 2010, in which Team India has had the upper hand. India has won 11 matches, while Zimbabwe has won 3 matches. However, Zimbabwe will be confident of taking advantage of home conditions, so India cannot take this series lightly.

India team: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Varun Chakraborty, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Prabhsimran Singh (wicketkeeper).

Zimbabwe team: Sikandar Raza (captain), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Tanaka Chiwanga, Ben Curran, Brad Evans, Wesley Madhewere, Tadivanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarwa, Newman Nyamauri, Milton Shumba, Tafadzwa Tsiga.