Days after India’s T20 World Cup 2024 triumph, a very different-looking side will play Zimbabwe in a five-match T20I series in Harare starting Saturday.

Led by Shubman Gill, the squad features only three players – Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal – from the main squad that played the T20 World Cup. The three players won’t be available for the first two T20Is of the series.

Rinku Singh and Khaleel Ahmed, who were part of the reserve group of players in Caribbean and the USA, will also play the series.

On the eve of the series, Gill confirmed that he would open the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma, who is set to make his India debut after a stellar performance in the IPL.

“Abhishek Sharma will open with me and Ruturaj Gaikwad will bat at No.3,” Gill stated in the pre-match press conference.

“It’s quite a different team from the one that played in the [T20] World Cup.

“There are a lot of young players in the team, including myself. So I think in terms of that, we just want to give the players experience and how the international, what it is like to play at the international level because a lot of the players haven’t played that many matches and some of the players haven’t even made their debut.

“So I think that is our aim for the series, to give them more international exposure and experience.”

The series will make Gill’s captaincy debut for India. He has previously led the Gujarat Titans franchise in the IPL.