Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is set to partner Abhishek Sharma in Zimbabwe at the top of the order for Shreyas Iyer’s Team India in the three-match T20I series starting on Thursday.
Updated: July 21, 2026, 2:15 PM IST
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will look to fire vs Zimbabwe in three-match T20I series. (Photo: IANS)
IND vs ZIM 2026 1st T20: Shreyas Iyer’s Team India will begin a three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club ground on Thursday. The Indian line-up is set to witness plenty of changes with the likes of Sanju Samson, Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah among those ‘rested’ for th series.
With Samson out of the series, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is set to get a long run in Zimbabwe and set to partner with world No. 2 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma at the top of the orders. Sooryavanshi, who became the youngest-ever Indian debutant at the age of 15 years and 99 days in England, scored only 42 runs in the three T20I matches so far with a best of 15.
The Rajasthan Royals will be hoping for better batting conditions in Zimbabwe to help him play his natural game against Zimbabwe. His opening partner Abhishek Sharma had also made his debut in the same country, a couple of years back and scored his maiden T20I century here as well. Abhishek since his debut had also risen to the top of the rankings of T20I batters.
Since then, Ishan Kishan has replaced Abhishek Sharma at the top place in the rankings. Captain Shreyas Iyer will retain his place in the middle order but will be hoping that he can finally lead his side to a win in the format. Iyer was India’s leading run-getter in the five-match T20I series vs England but lost the series 4-0.
The T20 world champions are here! India arrived at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on Sunday evening ahead of Thursday’s T20I series opener against Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club. #ZIMvIND #ExperienceZimbabwe pic.twitter.com/jQPxItslXb
— Zimbabwe Cricket (@ZimCricketv) July 20, 2026
With Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna both out of the series, Prince Yadav will likely take the new ball after the Lucknow Super Giants pacer made his debut against Ireland last month. Indian team could also play a couple of tearaway pacers – Ashok Sharma of Gujarat Titans and Mayank Yadav of Lucknow Super Giants – in the playing 11 with both capable of bowling at over 150kmph.
“My first target will be to wear the India jersey. I am waiting for that moment, to wear that jersey and represent my nation. I have waited for this for a long time. So that will be the first thing. The second thing is that I will keep doing what I know best. Whatever I have done till now, the hard work in domestic cricket, the preparation, the routines, I will just keep following that,” Ashok Sharma told Star Sports ahead of the Zimbabwe series.
“I will stick to my strengths and not try anything extra. Now that I am in the squad for the series against Zimbabwe, my next target will be to take as many wickets as possible and try to play as many matches as I can. I want to make this opportunity count. My next goal after that will be to play red-ball cricket for India as soon as possible,” the GT pacer added.
Shivam Dube is likely to be the main pace bowling all-rounder in absence of injured Hardik Pandya while Harsh Dubey could play the role of main spin-bowling all-rounder in the line-up.
India Playing 11 vs Zimbabwe in 1st T20
Shreyas Iyer (c), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Prince Yadav, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav
