India's Likely Playing XI vs Zimbabwe 1st T20I: Shreyas Iyer Faces Big Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Call
India vs Zimbabwe, 1st T20I: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could be named for the T20I series opener in Harare.
Dropped after three consecutive failures with the bat on the tour of England, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is keeping his fingers crossed to earn the nod against Zimbabwe in the first T20I on Thursday. Team India is winless in its last seven T20Is, and skipper Shreyas Iyer is desperate to bring the team's fortunes back on track. However, India has some tough calls to make for the series opener, especially in the opening department. While Abhishek Sharma is almost a certainty at the top, the second opener's spot will be decided between Sooryavanshi and Prabhsimran Singh.
The BCCI selection committee favoured youngsters over some of the mainstays in the team for the tour of Zimbabwe. Prabhsimran, who has been knocking on the door of the Indian team for a long time, will be keen to get an opportunity. The fact that he plays under Iyer for Punjab Kings, his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, could tempt the skipper to try him alongside Abhishek at the top. However, the chances of that happening are slim.
Abhishek and Sooryavanshi look like the top two picks for the opening spot, while Ishan Kishan is expected to be given the No. 3 role. Iyer himself is likely to occupy the No. 4 spot, with the hope of navigating the tough middle overs.
Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh are likely to take up the No. 5, No. 6, and No. 7 roles. The team will need at least one of them to play till the end and finish the innings.
It is a toss-up between spinners Harsh Dubey and Ravi Bishnoi; however, the former is expected to be preferred for the first T20I. Ashok Sharma, Yash Thakur, and Prince Yadav are likely to form the pace trio, though the option of picking Mayank Yadav also exists.
India's Predicted Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ashok Sharma, Yash Thakur, Prince Yadav
India Cricket Team
Zimbabwe Cricket Team