India To Tour Zimbabwe For 3 ODIs In August

It has been a busy international calendar for the Indian men's cricket team and after the limited-overs series against the West Indies, the side would be touring Zimbabwe for three ODI matches, set to be played from August 18-22. As the series would be played days ahead of the Asia Cup, one does not know whether a full-strength Indian side would go for the series. However, Lalchand Rajput, the technical director of Zimbabwe Cricket sees this series as a positive for his side. Rajput spoke to NDTV about how the series would be a great learning curve for the men's team.

"Obviously, every small country looks forward to playing against India. Most of the players play IPL, so they are all overawed by that so it will be a great thing for the cricketing fraternity in Zimbabwe, the youngsters, every cricketer is looking forward because it will be a great learning experience for them," Rajput told NDTV over the phone.

When asked how he sees the possibility of a second-string Indian team touring Zimbabwe, Rajput said: "I think even the second-string team will be very strong. Now also, India have got so much strength in their team so whoever plays, it will be a very strong side. We cannot worry about that."

Lastly, when asked whether he would like to see the likes of India, England, and Australia touring Zimbabwe more, Rajput answered in the affirmative.

"100 per cent, the more you play against big teams, you also raise your game and standard. So, hopefully, more top teams play Zimbabwe as it will really help our side," said Rajput.

After the ongoing white-ball series against England, India would tour West Indies for three ODIs and five T20Is. After that, the three ODIs against Zimbabwe will go ahead.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team Zimbabwe Cricket Team Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Lalchand Sitaram Rajput Cricket