Hurricane Beryl Throws Wrench in India’s Plans, Replacements Named for Zimbabwe T20Is

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced three new additions to India’s squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma, and Harshit Rana will join the team for the first two matches, replacing Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who are currently stuck in Barbados.

Initially scheduled to travel directly to Zimbabwe for the series starting on Saturday, 6th July, the three players will now first return to India with the rest of the ICC T20 World Cup-winning squad before heading to Harare. The delay was caused by a hurricane that led to the closure of Barbados Airport, preventing Samson, Dube, and Jaiswal from departing as planned.

Notably, Khaleel Ahmed and Rinku Singh, who were travelling reserves for the T20 World Cup, are also in Barbados. Despite their current location, no replacements have been named for them in the Zimbabwe series squad.

Sudharsan, currently playing county cricket for Surrey in London, is set to leave for Harare immediately.

The Indian T20 World Cup-winning team is expected to depart from Barbados today, following the reopening of the airport. Originally scheduled to leave on Monday at 11 AM local time (8:30 PM IST), the team has been stranded for two days due to Hurricane Beryl.

India’s squad for first two Zimbabwe T20Is: Shubman Gill (C), 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), and Harshit Rana.