Dream Come True: Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag Share Excitement Ahead Of 1st Series For Team India

After winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 title in the West Indies, the Indian men’s cricket team will travel to Zimbabwe to take part in a five-match T20I series that starts on Saturday (July 6) in Harare. However, for the Zimbabwe series, India will have a new-look squad. Many IPL 2024 stars are picked in the Shubman Gill-led side for the five-match series, and ahead of the start of the bilateral series, rookies like Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, and Tushar Deshpande have shared excitement to represent India.

In a video uploaded by BCCI’s official social media channels, the trio can be seen expressing their happiness over getting a chance to represent India at the highest level for the first time in their careers.

“Slowly sinking in that I will travel with the Indian team. It’s like a dream come true for me,” said Deshpande, who has impressed with his bowling in the last two IPL seasons for CSK.

“The firsts are always special, as we all say, and it’s the same with me because playing for the country is a very special thing,” he added.

Top-order batter Abhishek Sharma, who was on fire for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2024, also couldn’t hide his excitement ahead of his first series as an Indian cricketer and said, “Day 1 se jab maine as a professional shuru kiya tha toh ek he mera sapna tha ki mujhe India ke liye khelna hai. Mujhe pata tha ki agar mai mehnat karta rahunga toh mujhe mauka milega lekin ye nahi pata tha Zimbabwe mein milega aur India ke bahar milega.”

“Bachpan mein ek chota ladka Assam se ye soch raha tha, dream kar raha tha, toh abhi vo ho gaya hai finally, khushi toh bahut hai… There will be a special connection for Zimbabwe; whenever I do play my first match, I think that will be a special moment for that ground and for myself, which will be very sacred,” Riyan Parag said.

As many as six players are picked in India’s T20I team for the first time ever for the upcoming series against Zimbabwe.

All five T20Is in Harare

All five T20Is between India and Zimbabwe are scheduled to take place at the Harare Sports Club in Harare. The series opener will be played on Saturday (July 6), and the next four matches are on July 7, 10, 13, and 14, respectively.

India’s squad for Zimbabwe T20Is: Shubman Gill (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan (1st and 2nd), Jitesh Sharma (1st and 2nd), Harshit Rana (1st and 2nd), Yashasvi Jaiswal (last 3 T20Is), Sanju Samson (last 3 T20Is), Shivam Dube (last 3 T20Is).