BCCI announced the squad for the 3-match ODI series against Zimbabwe on 30 July, Saturday. Many experts were anticipating the return of Virat Kohli to the ODI squad after resting during the West Indies tour. But he has been rested for this tour as well.
Shikhar Dhawan remains the team’s captain (Rohit Sharma is taking a break), but first-team players like KL Rahul and Virat Kohli are still missing. Rahul had clarified on his official Twitter account that a Covid-19 infection had caused his recuperation to be put on hold, but Kohli’s absence remained a mystery.
According to several reports, Kohli may return to the team for the ODI series against Zimbabwe since the top batter is still having trouble with his form. After the 2022 Indian Premier League, Kohli returned to international competition, and in six innings across all forms, he had a 20 as his highest score.
PTI reports that Kohli will probably play his next game in the Asia Cup later this month, “Virat had spoken to selectors that he would be available from the Asia Cup onwards. The first team players will hardly get rest from the Asia Cup till end of the World T20. Hence this is a two-week window after the Windies tour when they can rest,” Asia Cup will commence from 27 August, the full schedule is yet to be released. It was also reported that the squad for the Asia Cup will pretty much be the same as the squad that will go to Australia for the T20I World Cup in October this year.
Washington Sundar and Deepak Chahar, among others, have returned to the team in preparation for the ODI series against Zimbabwe. The all-rounder joined the team after making an outstanding County Championship debut for Lancashire.
In fact, Chahar has finished his recovery from hamstring and back problems. Since five months ago, the right-arm quick has been absent from the action. Due to injuries, he was forced to miss the whole IPL 2022.
The Harare Sports Club will host all three of the matches in Zimbabwe, with the opening ODI set for August 18th.
Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
