Zimbabwe tour of India: Ajinkya Rahane will lead India

Zimbabwe tour of India: Ajinkya Rahane to lead India; Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni rested

NEW DELHI: In an attempt to provide much-needed rest to the senior players of the Indian team, the BCCI announced an expected second-string squad for the short tour of Zimbabwe beginning July 8. 

BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur and chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil, on Monday, announced that the board has entrusted their faith in Ajinkya Rahane to lead the 15-member squad in Zimbabwe, providing time off to high-profile players such as MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina. 

The players to have made the cut include Murali Vijay, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Karn Sharma and Sandeep Sharma. The BCCI has also included off-spinner Harbhajan Singh. The Indian side will play three ODIs and two T20Is during a 15-day tour. 

Harbhajan, who played the one-off Test against Bangladesh at Fatullah, last played an ODI for India against West Indies in 2011. Top-order batsman Robin Uthappa has also earned a recall and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been left out. 

Squad for the Zimbabwe tour: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Murali Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, Harbhajan Singh, Karn Sharma, Axar Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Stuart Binny, Robin Uthappa