BCCI announced on Tuesday the inclusion of left-arm spin-bowling Bengal all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed in the India squad for the Zimbabwe ODI series. He will be replacing the injured batting all-rounder Washington Sundar who was previously part of the 16-man squad.
Washington Sundar suffered a shoulder injury during a Royal London One-Day Cup match in England. While Sundar has just 4 ODIs to his name, Shahbaz Ahmed is an uncapped player keen on making his international debut.
Other all-rounders in the India squad for Zimbabwe ODIs include Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel.
- Plenty of sports to choose from
- Live streaming is offered on selected sports
- Very competitive odds
- Spectacular welcome bonus
Is an international debut around the corner for Shahbaz Ahmed?
Whether Shahbaz can make it to the XI ahead of these all-rounders needs to be seen. Both Axar and Hooda have proved their skill on the international stage and are reliable all-rounders.
Shahbaz Ahmed has scored 662 runs from 26 List-A matches at an average of 47.28 while picking up 24 wickets with an impressive economy of 4.43. These are some seriously impressive figures.
And while Axar got his debut against England last year and Hooda played his first ODI in the recently concluded Windies tour, the limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe can be a great opportunity for India to further test its bench strength.
Will Rahul Tripathi also receive his India cap?
Talking of uncapped players, this India squad features another prolific name from IPL – Rahul Tripathi. The 31-year old batsman has played 76 IPL games since 2017.
He stunned one and all in his first year of IPL and became a reliable figure in the KKR batting lineup in the later years. In the mega auction, Tripathi went to SRH and continued making an impact with the bat for the orange army as well.
However, with plenty of opening options in this squad, Tripathi might find it difficult to get his international debut on this tour.
India squad for Zimbabwe ODIs – No Rohit, Kohli, Bumrah, Bhuvi
The vice-captain KL Rahul is back from injury and will lead India in this ODI series against Zimbabwe. While Bumrah and Shami were missing from action on the Windies tour as well, India still had the experience of Bhuvi in their bowling arsenal.
Here is the complete India squad for Zimbabwe ODIs –
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Shikhar Dhawan, Deepak Hooda, Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson, KL Rahul (c), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammad Siraj, Deepak Chahar
Another big name missing from this squad is that of Rishabh Pant. This tour was expected to be an opportunity for Kohli to find his form ahead of the Asia Cup. However, the former India captain announced his unavailability for the tournament due to personal reasons.
Is India in for a surprise or will it be a cake walk against Zimbabwe?
Zimbabwe pack a pretty solid punch when it comes to limited overs cricket. Their recent series against Bangladesh was a sign that they cannot be taken lightly.
The likes of Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Wesley Madhevere, Richard Ngrava, and Donal Tiripano are all high impact players who can pose a tough challenge with their respective abilities.
With a squad that features many lesser experienced players, KL Rahul seems to have a challenge on his hands.
Betting tips for Zimbabwe vs India, 1st ODI
Date: 18th August 2022
Time: 12:45 PM IST
Venue: Harare Sports Club, Harare
- The likes of Prasidh Krishna and Mohammad Siraj make a tough opening bowling duo. It will not be easy to score runs off these pace guns right from the get go.
- Bet on Zimbabwe 1st 10 overs total to be under 50.5 at 50 odds at Parimatch.
- These betting odds are much higher than what you’d get for betting on India to win.
- From openers and wicket-keeper batsmen to all-rounders, India have a pretty attacking set of players who can hit the long ball.
- Bet on India total sixes to be over 5.5 at 02 odds.
- Even if it’s a one-day game, we can certainly expect there to be at least 6 sixes from these new-generation of Indian batters.
- Plenty of sports to choose from
- Live streaming is offered on selected sports
- Very competitive odds
- Spectacular welcome bonus
- Plenty of sports to choose from
- Live streaming is offered on selected sports
- Very competitive odds
- Spectacular welcome bonus