Nitish Kumar, Harshit Rana set to be picked for India’s T20I tour of Zimbabwe

New Delhi: Young fast-bowling all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana are set to be picked for India’s five-match T20I tour of Zimbabwe, happening from July 6 to 14 at the Harare Sports Club.

Sources have told IANS that in all likelihood, Nitish and Harshit, currently attending a camp at the NCA in Bengaluru, would be picked in the Indian squad for the Zimbabwe T20I tour which is likely to have a lot of fresh faces, with the majority of them being young performers in domestic cricket and Indian Premier League.

Since 2010, India’s tours of Zimbabwe have seen many youngsters being picked for them to be eased and tested at the international level. For next month’s tour, the same procedure is set to be followed, as India aim to build a team for the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, which they will be jointly hosting alongside Sri Lanka.

Representing Andhra in domestic cricket, Nitish emerged as a breakout star for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024, where he impressed with his big-hitting ability. He amassed 303 runs in 13 innings, including two fifties at an average of 33.67 and a strike rate of 143 for the SRH, who became IPL 2024 runners-up.

He also picked three wickets with his seam-bowling, as Nitish took home the Emerging Player award for the IPL 2024 season. On the other hand, Delhi-based Rana bagged 19 wickets in 13 games of IPL 2024 to play a pivotal role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ march to the trophy in Chennai.

He was also picked for the India ‘A’ tour of South Africa and even played in the Emerging Men’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka last year. Rana, who made his first-class debut for Delhi in 2022, can also be a useful batter in the lower-order, as seen from his 75-ball century for North Zone against Northeast in the Dileep Trophy quarterfinal in June 2022.

India’s tour of Zimbabwe will take place after the completion of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, which is ending with the final at Kensington Oval in Barbados on June 29. This will be the fourth time Zimbabwe will host India in a bilateral men’s T20I series, having previously faced off in 2010, 2015 and 2016 respectively. IANS

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