India captain Shubman Gill opted to bowl against Zimbabwe in the first T20I of the five-match series here on Saturday.

India handed debut caps to Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel.

Abhishek (Sunrisers Hyderabad) and Riyan (Rajasthan Royals) had a spectacular IPL, while wicketkeeper-batter Jurel has shone through since his splendid Test debut against England earlier this year.

The selectors have gone ahead with the GenNext players looking at the 2026 T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka and India.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube, who were part of the Indian squad in the T20 World Cup, will join the team for the last three games.

Teams India: Shubman Gill (c), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed.

Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (c), Tadiwanashe Marumani, Innocent Kaia, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Johnathan Campbell, Clive Madande (wk), Wessly Madhevere, Luke Jongwe, Blessing Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara.

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