Shreyas Iyer will 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 starting here on Thursday.
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 Shreyas and Co. a chance to get the house in order.
A series win against Zimbabwe would be the expected outcome, but a defeat could unnerve the dressing room. For this tour, India will have VVS Laxman handling the reins in place of head coach Gautam Gambhir.
The spotlight will once again chase ‘Boy Wonder’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who is set to open in all three games alongside Abhishek Sharma with Sanju Samson not featuring in the squad.
The Harare Sports Club ground brings back fond memories for both Abhishek and Sooryavanshi. The Punjab opener made his debut and then scored his first T20I ton here in his second appearance.
For 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.
After being dropped for the final T20I against England, Sooryavanshi is set to play the entire series against Zimbabwe alongside Abhishek Sharma. | Photo Credit: Reuters
The afternoon games at the Harare Sports Club’s tracks, which always have a bit of juice and carry, can pose problems for most of the Indian batters save skipper Shreyas as they don’t tend to use their feet.
Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava, two tall and potent fast bowlers, can cause chaos if Indians become complacnt.
Laxman and the team management’s strategy, therefore, would be interesting to watch.
With vice-captain Tilak Varma not looking comfortable at No. 5, how would the stand-in head coach manoeuvre with that position? Tilak, in T20Is, is best suited at No. 3 but Ishan Kishan, a senior member in this set-up, has been given that role.
At No. 5, Rinku Singh is a better bet with his street-smart style of batting, but it will not be easy to drop a designated vice captain.
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India’s real struggle will be selecting two among Harsh Dubey, Shivam Dube and Suryansh Shedge. In the case of Dube, he has struggled as a batter in conditions that aid seam and swing bowling. However, he has the experience of being part of two T20 World Cup triumphs (albeit in favourable conditions in the Caribbean and India).
While Gambhir has had a fascination for all-rounders, Laxman’s preferences are different. He can’t afford to have a long tail, as none of the rookie pace quartet of Mayank Yadav, Ashok Sharma, Prince Yadav and Yash Thakur can bat higher up the order.
Prince, who has been playing a few games for India, will certainly start with injury-prone Mayank Yadav, who had turned up in a few T20Is against Bangladesh back in 2024.
The choice for the third pacer will be between tearaway quick Ashok, who can bowl mid 150s or the steady Yash, who bowls late 130s but has variety.
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Published on Jul 22, 2026