India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prabhsimran Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi.

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani(w), Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza(c), Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Wessly Madhevere, Innocent Kaia, Richard Ngarava, Tanaka Chivanga, Blessing Muzarabani, Ben Curran, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Newman Nyamhuri.

All eyes will also be on finisher Rinku Singh, who returns to the setup following a surge in form in the second half of IPL 2026, especially with India requiring muscle power in the struggling middle order. Additionally, the series provides a platform for India's largely untested pacers – Mayank Yadav, Ashok Sharma and Yash Thakur, to step up.

Shreyas Iyer praised the Sikandar Raza-led Zimbabwe team, saying they have a strong lineup with several experienced players, including those who have featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He added that India are focused on adapting quickly and securing a series win.

"I feel that they have an amazing team, an amazing lineup. And a couple of them also played in the IPL, so they carry immense experience and it is going to be a great series. Everyone wants to perform at the end of the day and see to it that their team wins. And that's the reason we are here, to win," Iyer said.
 

"First and foremost, excited to be here. This is my first time in Zimbabwe and Harare. The weather looks beautiful, the people look happy. So, looking forward to an exciting series over here. And then, yes, definitely we had a rough patch in England but lots of positives out of that. We got to know what we have to build as a team going forward, what kind of presence of mind, awareness, and adaptability we need once we step onto the field. Again, this is going to be a great challenge for us. Some of us are playing for the first time, so the quicker we adapt, the better result we would be getting," Shreyas Iyer said at the pre-match press conference.

For this tour, India will have a stop-gap head coach in VVS Laxman, whose personality if diametrically opposite to the combative regular gaffer Gautam Gambhir. It is not that Laxman wouldn't want to win the series but his propensity to experiment with playing eleven is far less compared to Gambhir.

Shreyas Iyer would be eager for his first win as India captain while his young team eyes course correction against a spunky Zimbabwe that is expected to fight hard during the short three-match T20I series. Having lost six out of his first seven T20I games as skipper in series defeats to minnows Ireland and a seasoned England side, the rubber against Zimbabwe gives Iyer and company a chance to get the house in order.

For Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, this is the ground where earlier this year, on February 6, he hammered a hapless England U-19s with a big hundred in the junior World Cup final. But this series will have a different context. It was supposed to be an opportunity to experiment for a new-look bowling attack, but has turned into a must-win affair due to recent debacles.
 

The three-match series also offers young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a prime opportunity to cement his place at the top of the order in the absence of Sanju Samson. Returning to the venue of his blistering U-19 World Cup final heroics, the teenaged Sooryavanshi will look to bounce back from a modest debut tour of England, where he was troubled by short balls.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first T20I of the three-match series between India and Zimbabwe, straight from the Harare Sports Club, Harare. Stay tuned for all the live updates.