Toss Zimbabwe chose to bowl vs India
Thakur, like Ashok, has been part of the BCCI’s targeted pool of fast bowlers for a while and has worked extensively under the VVS Laxman-led support staff at the Centre of Excellence.
While he featured in just one IPL fixture for Punjab Kings this season, he was Vidarbha’s highest wicket-taker during their run to a maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy (50-overs) title, picking up 19 wickets in nine games at an economy of 6.43.
With five T20I caps, Prince Yadav remained the most experienced India seamer in the XI. Ravi Bishnoi continued to be the lone spinner, leaving Harsh Dubey waiting for an opportunity to debut in the shortest format. The make-up of their squad also leaves them with just four specialist bowlers, with Shivam Dube and Abhishek Sharma needing to fill in as the fifth bowler.
Following T20I series losses in Ireland and England, defending T20 World Cup champions India are seeking to win the series.
Zimbabwe: 1 Brian Bennett, 2 Ben Curran, 3 Dion Myers, 4 Sikandar Raza (capt), 5 Ryan Burl, 6 Wessly Madhevere, 7 Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), 8 Brad Evans, 9 Newman Nyamhuri, 10 Richard Ngarava, 11 Blessing Muzarabani
India: 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Yash Thakur, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mayank Yadav, 11 Prince Yadav
