Zimbabwe Announces Young T20 Squad Against India

India will play a five-match series against Zimbabwe in Harare on July 6, 7, 10, 13, and 14. Due to the fatigue from continuous cricket, India has not included its top stars for this series. On the other hand, Zimbabwe has announced a squad of young players to face India.

For the T20 series against India, Zimbabwe has included young Antum Naqvi in the squad. The 25-year-old Naqvi was born in Belgium. He has been included in the team after securing Zimbabwean citizenship.

Naqvi’s parents are Pakistani, but he expressed his desire to represent Zimbabwe in international cricket. In domestic T20 cricket, his strike rate is 146.80. His average runs in first-class cricket are 72, and in List A cricket, it is 73.42.

After failing to qualify for the recently concluded T20 World Cup, new head coach Justin Sammons is trying to rebuild the Zimbabwean team. For this, he has chosen a squad of young players with an average age of 27 and a combined experience of 558 matches.

The most experienced player in the Zimbabwe squad is 38-year-old Sikandar Raza, followed by 29-year-old Luke Jongwe. Other senior players in the squad include 26-year-old Richard Ngarava, who has played 52 matches, and 27-year-old Blessing Muzarabani.

Zimbabwe's squad against India:

Sikandar Raza (Captain), Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Jonathan Campbell, Tendai Chatara, Luke Jongwe, Innocent Kaia, Clive Madande, Wesley Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Brandon Mavuta, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Antum Naqvi, Richard Ngarava, and Milton Shumba.

India's T20 squad against Zimbabwe:

Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.