Team India will be touring Zimbabwe in the upcoming month for a 3-match ODI series starting from August 18 to August 22. With the main players rested for the series, including captain Rohit Sharma and some other big names, the selectors are expecting Virat Kohli to play the series to regain his form.
After playing the recent series against England, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishab Pant have been rested for the upcoming series against West Indies. In their place, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Shubman Gill have got a call-up for the ODI series. Once this series gets over, India is scheduled to play against Zimbabwe and a few players would be under the tight scrutiny of the viewers and would have to make a huge impact while they play.
Players who should not miss the series against Zimbabwe-
With the major players being on rest, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Arshdeep Singh, and a few others could get a chance to prove their talents and skills in the Windie’s and Zimbabwe tour. All the eyes would be on the playing XI and how the team performs in absence of the regular players. However, there are two players who are in the hottest talks as to how will the series fold out for them and what kind of time they will have. They are-
1. Virat Kohli- Virat Kohli is resting for the West Indies LOIs and reports have been there that the cricketer wants to rest for the Zimbabwe tour too. Whereas, the BCCI selectors want Virat to play the later series and try to get his form back ahead of the Asia Cup. The recent white ball series against England was a forgettable one for Virat Kohli as he scored only 76 runs in all the five matches he played with an average of 12.66.
The world has been waiting for a big score by the former captain as he last reached a three-figure mark in November 2019. Since then, he has been failing to convert the starts into a big score. BCCI wants him to play against a weaker team so that he can level up his confidence and get back to dominating world cricket, as India needs its star player back now more than ever.
2. Shreyas Iyer- Shreyas Iyer‘s failure against short balls has always been a pretty evident problem ever since he returned from his injury. It’s no more a secret to the world that he struggles to hit runs against the bouncers, under the armpit, and hasn’t yet found a way to tackle them. Iyer lost his wicket to short deliveries every time he came to bat in the recent multi-format series against England.
With Surya Kumar Yadav doing so well at number 4 and all the runs he has amassed against the English, including a century in the T20I format, Shreyas’ spot seems to be already in threat. Viewers and analysts feel that there is nothing special Shreyas possess over Surya who is already been attributed the title of “360-degree player” and enjoys his game more against spinners.
The West Indies series is going to be a do-or-die situation for Shreyas Iyer as he might not get more opportunities if he fails to make this one count.
