ZIM vs IND 2024: Why is Avesh Khan not playing fourth T20I?

Pacer Tushar Deshpande replaced Avesh Khan in India’s fourth T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare. Avesh, who was in remarkable form as he picked up six wickets in three matches - the joint-highest along with Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi, was given rest for the fourth T20I as the pacer is likely to travel with the squad for the series against Zimbabwe.

Tushar meanwhile is set to make his international debut against Zimbabwe. The Mumbai-born pacer had a brilliant IPL in 2023, which first brought him into contention. In 2024, he picked up 17 wickets in 13 matches in the IPL, which helped him find a place in the national team. He will pair alongside Khaleel Ahmed as India would hope to seal the series. Among spinners, Bishnoi and Sundar have retained their place in the playing XI.

India meanwhile won the toss and elected to bowl first. Analysing the surface, skipper Shubman Gill analysed that the match would be played on a new surface and believed that it could help the fast bowlers. He also expects the bowlers to get better in the death over as India struggled massively in the previous T20I.

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“We'll bowl first. Looks like a fresh wicket. Hopefully, there's going to be something in it for the fast bowlers. The death bowling is where we can improve. We got a little complacent (in the previous match). Tushar Deshpande makes his debut in place of Avesh Khan,” Gill said during the toss ceremony.

Zimbabwe drops Wellington Masakadaza

Zimbabwe also made one change to their squad as Faraz Akram replaced Wellington Masakadza. Earlier in the series, Masakadaza expressed his desire to pick up the wicket of Gill but failed to do so in the first three T20Is of the series. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe team management decided to bring in Arkam with the hope of strengthening their batting unit, which has failed to deliver in the last couple of games.

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“We wanted to bat first. The wicket tends to get slower and slower. We've got a vision for 2026, the only way to get better is quality game time. Hopefully, our top-three can click. Our idea is for all three departments to perform. The boys are hungry. Wellington Masakadaza misses out. Faraz Akram comes in,” skipper Sikandar Raza said.

India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill (c), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande, Khaleel Ahmed.

Zimbabwe Playing XI: Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (c), Johnathan Campbell, Faraz Akram, Clive Madande (wk), Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara.