The BCCI announced on July 2, 2024, that Jitesh Sharma, Harshit Rana, and Sai Sudharsan have been added to the Indian squad for the first two T20Is against Zimbabwe. India will play a series of 5 T20Is in Harare, starting on July 6.

These players are replacing Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the initial matches. The delay in the arrival of Samson, Dube, and Jaiswal is due to the Indian squad, which won the T20 World Cup 2024, being stranded in Barbados because of a hurricane that caused severe weather conditions on the island.

The Indian team had to stay in their hotel as the hurricane approached Barbados. Reports indicate that the team will depart from Barbados on a special flight arranged by the BCCI on Tuesday, July 2, at 6 pm local time (3:30 am IST on Wednesday). They are expected to arrive in Delhi by 7:45 pm IST on July 3.

As a result, Samson, Dube, and Jaiswal could not join the Indian team heading to Zimbabwe and will travel to India first before flying out to join the team in Harare.

The BCCI released a statement saying, “The Men’s Selection Committee has named Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma, and Harshit Rana as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, and Yashasvi Jaiswal for the first two T20Is against Zimbabwe. The trio will first travel to India with the rest of the World Cup-winning squad before heading to Harare for the series starting on July 6.

India’s squad for first two 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

🚨 NEWS 🚨

Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma and Harshit Rana added to India’s squad for first two T20Is against Zimbabwe.

Full Details 🔽 #TeamIndia | #ZIMvINDhttps://t.co/ezEefD23D3

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 2, 2024