India in Zimbabwe: The Talking Points

 

 

 

While many seniors will welcome the break from a hectic calendar during India's tour of Zimbabwe, the young turks in the squad will eye it as a golden opportunity to showcase their skills on the biggest stage.
India are going to see a heavy Test season and they will have around 10 more ODIs and just one T20I in the season after Zimbabwe tour. So quite rightly the selectors have used the African tour as a chance to test the deserving youngsters.
India have had a good year so far in limited-overs cricket. After losing the first four ODIs against Australia in January, India won the fifth match and then went on to clinch the three-match T20I series 3-0. After returning home, India thrashed Sri Lanka 2-1 and then went on to win the Asia Cup for a record sixth time.
The MS Dhoni-led side was looking in good form in the ICC World T20 before their campaign was ended by West Indies in the semis.
One thing that has made India look unstoppable in T20Is is Virat Kohli. He has been in unbelievable form this year and was the key player in India's victories in the shortest format of the game.
Kohli, along with many others, has been given rest for the Zimbabwe tour. But for MS Dhoni, who will have ample rest during India's Tests having retired from the format, it will be an opportunity to show that he has a lot left in him to play as long as he desires.
Zimbabwe will host India for three ODIs and three T20Is in June at the Harare Sports Club starting with the first ODI on June 11.

The last time India toured Zimbabwe was in July 2015, when the visitors won the ODI series 3-0 and the T20I series was tied 1-1. It will be India's fourth tour to Zimbabwe in the last six years.

Here are a few of the talking points:
Testing the bench strength
R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Gurkeerat Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Harbhajan Singh, Pawan Negi, Ashish Nehra, Hardik Pandya, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh were all in the limited-overs squads for India's tour of Australia and the World T20.
None of those names have been picked by the selectors, and this is a clear signal that they want to Test India’s bench strength in limited-over games while resting a few tired legs.
If the youngsters perform well, then the selectors will have more options for the Champions Trophy next year.
Hope to find a legspinner
India’s search for a legspinner has never been over since Anil Kumble retired. Amit Mishra is a quality bowler but he has been in and out of the Indian team, and his drawbacks include poor fielding and bowling slower through the air that at times makes it easy for the batsmen to pick him.
Yuzvendra Chahal finished as the second highest wicket-taker in IPL 2016, only behind Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He took 21 wickets from 13 matches and was a key player in Royal Challengers Bangalore's turnaround. A street-smart bowler, Chahal was Kohli’s go-to man in IPL 9 and earned him a maiden India call-up.
He, thus, is carrying a lot of hopes that India's wait for a crafty legspinner will finally end.
How much is left in the tank for Dhoni?
While most of the seniors were rested, Dhoni was named the captain for Zimbabwe tour as he made himself available out of his desire to mentor the new recruits. By doing that for a not-so-important tour, Dhoni has also given a clear message that he is fit and raring to prove that he is still the player the world loves.
Dhoni played some good knocks in IPL 2016, which included his last-ball six for a win over over Kings XI Punjab, but overall his performance with the bat was not up to the standards he sets for himself.
Now that former players are asking Kohli to be made skipper in all three formats, time is running out for Dhoni and he needs to play some match-winning knocks to get his confidence back.
Can the young guns emulate IPL success at the international stage?
It has been observed in the past that players like Manpreet Gony failed to live up to the expectations at the international level after their selection based on IPL performances.
KL Rahul, Chahal and Dhawal Kulkarni have all been very impressive this year in the IPL but will they be able to emulate the same in Zimbabwe is a big question. There is a good chance that they can because they are all quality players and will play a weak Zimbabwe team that is going through one of the worst phases in their cricket history.