INDIA TOUR OF ZIMBABWE: SAI SUDHARSAN, HARSHIT RANA ADDED TO INDIA’S SQUAD AS BACK-UP TO SANJU SAMSON AND CO.

Team India have added Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana to their squad for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the first two T20Is. The announcement made on Tuesday (July 2) saw the trio being added after Samson, Dube and Jaiswal are unlikely to be available due to travel fatigue and time management issues. India are set to play Zimbabwe in a five-match T20I series which starts on Saturday (July 6) in Harare.

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Harshit Rana, Sai Sudharsan added to the India squad

Samson and Co are yet to return to India after winning the T20 World Cup in the early hours of Sunday morning. Hurricane Beryl has hit Barbados after the world cup and the Indian team is stuck there and their return to India is delayed. This means Samson, Dube and Jaiswal are unlikely to be available for selection for Saturday’s opening T20I in Harare.

According to the latest reports, the trio will only return to India on Wednesday evening along with the rest of the squad through a charter flight. It is anticipated that all the players will participate in a road show and will have a dinner with the Prime Minister on Wednesday or Thursday evening. In this case, Samson and Co are unlikely to reach Zimbabwe on time and will face travel fatigue.

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On the other hand, Sudharsan, Jitesh and Rana will have the opportunity to showcase their talent on the international stage. They have been knocking on the doors of the Indian team for a long time and have travelled with the India A squad. Sudharsan has played for India in three ODIs while Jitesh has represented the national side on nine occasions in the T20I format. Harshit Rana was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) side that won the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) title and is yet to make his debut for India in any format.

The trio will likely return to India after the opening two T20Is and Samson and Co are predicted to be available for the rest of the series.

2024-07-02T09:32:07Z dg43tfdfdgfd