Rahul was recovering from a hernia operation. He was to play in the series against West Indies but could not play as he tested positive for COVID-19. Rahul was taking time to recover from the illness and hence he was not selected in the squad for the Zimbabwe tour earlier. He was given time to get fit so that he would be fully fit till the Asia Cup. However, the medical team has now declared Rahul fit after meeting the criteria laid down for selection.
Why Rahul is fit is good news
Lokesh Rahul is the first choice for the post of vice-captain along with captain Rohit Sharma in all formats, so Dhawan was appointed vice-captain for this series when he became available. With Rahul joining the team, the total number of team members has gone up to 16 as the selectors did not replace him with any other player, but Rahul’s presence means that Ruturaj Gaikwad will hardly get a chance. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have been rested for this series. Bumrah is recovering from a back injury and will also miss the Asia Cup starting August 27 in the United Arab Emirates.
Tour begins on 18 August
India’s tour of Zimbabwe will begin on August 18. The second and third matches will be played on 20th and 22nd. These matches will be part of the ICC ODI Super League. The series will be crucial for Zimbabwe as its points will count towards qualification for next year’s ODI World Cup.
Now such is the Indian squad
KL Rahul (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice captain), Rituraj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Famous Krishna, Mohammad Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
