Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma share emotions ahead of their India debut

The second string of the Indian team for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour has reached Harare before the first T20I commences at the same venue. Many youngsters are braced to make their debut for the national side with the likes of Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma, and Tushar Deshpande being inducted into the squad. As the team touched down in Harare, the youngster shed light on their emotions and expectations going ahead. 

Parag who made head turns with his performance in the IPL 2024 for Rajasthan Royals admitted that he misplaced his passport and phone as he geared up for the tour. On the other hand, Abhishek, who drew accolades for his fearless batting alongside Travis Head for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024, shared his interaction with Shubman Gill after getting selected. For the unversed, Gill will be leading the Indian team against Zimbabwe.

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"I received a call from Gill after the selection, I felt very good. Before my interview, when I reached home, my parents were giving interviews. I felt proud," said Abhishek in a video uploaded by the BCCI.

"Ever since I was a small kid from Assam, I used to dream of this moment, now that this happened I'm very happy and I'll always have a special connection with Zimbabwe, it will be very sacred," Parag added.

Here's the video uploaded by BCCI:

India will take on Zimbabwe in first T20I on July 6

The young Indian squad will tussle with Zimbabwe in the first of the five-match T20I series, led by their star player, Sikandar Raza on July 6. The team has been bifurcated into two versions, with some players missing after the first two T20Is and making way for the next bunch. Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson are the only players from the Indian team that won the T20 World Cup 2024 to be featured in the tour.

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India's squad for 1st & 2nd T20I against Zimbabwe:

Shubman Gill (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Harshit Rana.

India's squad for remaining 3 T20Is:

Shubman Gill (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed, Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande, Shivam Dube, Yashasvi Jaiswal.