new delhi, Jul 23
The struggle in the game’s shortest format, following the successful defence of the T20 World Cup crown this year, was the last thing in the minds of Team India players. But since their third T20 Cup triumph, India are winless in T20Is, having gone through a forgettable tour of the UK where they lost both series against minnows Ireland and England.
Six defeats and a no-result: that’s India’s report card in T20Is after the T20 showpiece. For sure, captain Shreyas Iyer will want that to change when his team faces Zimbabwe in the first of the three T20Is in Harare on Thursday. Having beaten Australia and Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup to qualify from the group stage, Zimbabwe, too, will be tricky opponents for Shreyas and Co. Besides, the Sikandar Raza-led side will be playing in conditions they are familiar with, while one of their lead bowlers, pacer Blessing Muzarabani, has grown in experience following his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders in this year’s IPL. Some of the players in the current India squad, too, have had the experience of playing in Zimbabwe during India’s last tour there in 2024. But the circumstances this time are different. Shreyas and some of his teammates flew into Harare from England on Tuesday after the ODI series, getting just a day to practise. “We have to adapt as soon as possible, because we know what happened in Ireland. We got a sort of reality check there,” Shreyas, looking for his maiden win as India captain, acknowledged on Wednesday, the eve of the opening T20I.
“So, as soon as we come here and create awareness and the right execution, the results will definitely go our way.
“We had a rough patch in England, but a lot of positives came out of that. We got to know what we have to build as a team going forward, what kind of presence of mind, awareness, and adaptability we need once we step onto the field. “Again, this is going to be a great challenge for us. Some of us are playing here for the first time. “So the quicker we adapt, the better result we would get,” the skipper emphasised. The conditions, however, will be new to the likes of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and quicks Yash Thakur and Ashok Sharma. Both the pacers may make their international debut in this series.
Pacer Mayank Yadav, too, will be looking forward to a chance in the XI, while for Prince Yadav, it will be a chance to regain some confidence after a difficult phase in England.
For teenager Sooryavanshi, these T20Is will give him a scope to prove his mettle in international cricket after being undone by the back-of-a-length stuff in the three T20Is he played in England. Shreyas, however, hopes the 15-year-old was able to rectify the areas he erred in during the short gap after the England T20Is.
“He must have rectified where he went wrong. Personally, I don’t have to give much advice,” Shreyas stated.
Despite the reversals, Shreyas backed his team to play fearless cricket in the coming matches.
“I don’t think they should fear failure, because when you have such thoughts at the back of your mind, then you play to save yourself. When you don’t have that fear, you can get the best out of yourself.
“We don’t have to think much about what people are saying outside. We have to stay in the present. The more we play good cricket and play as a unit, the better it will be for the team,” he stressed.
