India vs Zimbabwe, 1st ODI, India Predicted XI: Will Sanju Samson Find A Place?

Team India is all set to face Zimbabwe in the first ODI of the three-match series on Thursday, at the Harare Sports Club. The KL Rahul-led side, which was earlier supposed to be captained by Shikhar Dhawan, will be looking forward to take a 1-0 lead in the ODI series, in order to prepare for the upcoming Asia Cup. The Zimbabwe series will be seeing the return of KL Rahul in the squad, who was earlier excluded due to injury and later tested positive for COVID-19. It will be interesting to see whether Team India will include wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson in the playing XI or not.

Here’s what we think should be India’s predicted XI for the first ODI

KL Rahul: The star batter of Team India has waited for a long time for his return on the field. Rahul will be definitely having a place in the Playing XI, as he can provide a strong opening partnership and smash big hits in the initial overs.

Shikhar Dhawan: Apart from Rahul, Dhawan will be another face for Team India’s opening pair in the first ODI. The batter smashed 168 runs in the three-match ODI series against West Indies, with the highest score of 97 runs off 99 balls.

Shubman Gill: Team India might include Gill in the Playing XI, as he had a fantastic outing in the ODI series against West Indies, where he scored 205 runs, with 98 runs in the third ODI.

Deepak Hooda: Hooda can definitely find himself a place in the first ODI, as the batter can play of variety of shots and provide Team India with a strong stand in the late overs.

Sanju Samson: Samson had an average outing in the ODI series against West Indies, where he also smashed a half-century. It will be interesting whether Team India includes him or will he get replaced by Ishan Kishan.

Shardul Thakur: Shardul is also one of the key players, who can a place in the Playing XI, as he provides Team India with an all-round performance. He scalped seven wickets against West Indies and also had a good economy.

Axar Patel: Axar Patel can give Team India another all-round option, as he also has a great spin. Axar had a great outing against West Indies, where he played a massive knock of 64 runs off 35 balls.

Deepak Chahar: Apart from KL rahul, Zimbabwe series will also mark the return of pacer Deepak Chahar, who was sitting out due to injury. It will be interesting to see how he makes a comeback on the field with his fantastic pace.

Kuldeep Yadav: The spinner played his last ODI match in February 2022 against West Indies, where he two wickets in eight overs. Along with Axar, he can be a great option for spin.

Promoted

Mohammed Siraj: The pacer scalped four wickets against West Indies in the three-match series. In the absence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj might lead the pace attack of Team India.

Prasidh Krishna: The young pacer had an average outing in the series against West Indies, where he played two matches and scalped one wicket. Team India might go with Avesh Khan in his place to keep a strong pace option.