 between the two sides at Harare Sports Club on Thursday.){kind=link}
India cricket team vice-captain Shikar Dhawan says his side will not be underestimating a rejuvenated Zimbabwe side ahead of opening One Day International (ODI) between the two sides at Harare Sports Club on Thursday.
World beaters India, who have the luxury of resting some of their stars such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will head into the series after a successful tour of the West Indies in which they won both the ODI and the Twenty20 International (T20I) series.
Zimbabwe has also been undergoing a revival under new head coach Dave Houghton and recently won the T20I and ODI series against Bangladesh at home.
“It is good that they (Zimbabwe) won against Bangladesh. I am sure they are playing good cricket. This is good for us too. It will keep us on our toes and we would not take anything for granted. We are here to perform. Irrespective of the team and time, we should focus on getting the process right so that we get the right results,” said Dhawan in a pre-match press conference in Harare on Tuesday.
“When Zimbabwe play against India or any other quality team, their players will get noticed when they do well. They will get more exposure. They have new players and we were analysing their strengths and weaknesses. Regardless of the team we are facing, we always make sure we do things right so that we end up getting the right results. That will once again be our focus as a team,” he added.
.@SDhawan25 on his new outlook towards life 👌👌#TeamIndia | #ZIMvIND pic.twitter.com/iPpMR4alHn
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 16, 2022
India are embarking on their first tour of Zimbabwe since 2016 when it won the ODI and T20I series.
Dhawan will be deputising KL Rahul, who will be captaining the star-studded Indian side during their tour of Zimbabwe.
The Delhi-born hard-hitting batter said his focus is on performing well and scoring well for his side with a positive mindset.
Dhawan had an impressive tour of the West Indies. In three ODIS, he scored 168 runs at an average of 56.00 with the best score of 97. His scores included two fifties.
He will be aiming to continue his good form during the series against Zimbabwe which consists of three ODIs which are part of the 2020–23 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League.
After the opening ODI slated for Harare Sports Club on Thursday, the two sides will meet in two more ODIs on Saturday and Monday at the same venue.
India squad for 3 ODIS: KL Rahul (captain) Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj and Deepak Chahar.
Getting into the groove ahead of the first #ZIMvIND ODI 💪 💪 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/QFUQVdUZLQ
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 16, 2022