Shubman Gill is expected to lead a young Indian squad in its next five-match T20I series in Zimbabwe, which begins on July 6. The series will take place entirely in Harare. 

Selectors are anticipated to rest veteran players such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, allowing youngsters such as Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Tushar Deshpande, and Harshit Rana to make the team. 

This initiative comes as the BCCI seeks to develop future players and expose them to international competition. With Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav busy with the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024, the Zimbabwe tour provides an excellent opportunity to bring in new players.

According to the Indian Express, the selection committee approached Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, who are now competing in the T20 World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean, to see if they wanted to travel to Zimbabwe, but both players declined. Notably, the selection committee has already decided on a preliminary 20-member team for the upcoming Zimbabwe visit.

India's Likely Squad for Zimbabwe Tour: Shubman Gill (C), Yashaswi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Dayal, Avesh Khan, Harshit Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Nitish Reddy, Khaleel Ahmed, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Jitesh Sharma (WK)