The last time India visited Zimbabwe was in 2016, when KL Rahul—then a member of the Test squad—was beginning to make his way into the white-ball picture following a breakout IPL campaign with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
Rahul became the first Indian batsman and the twelfth overall to get a century on debut in the first ODI of that tour, playing in the 50-over format for the first time under MS Dhoni. He finished the ODI portion of the trip with the most runs scored and won Player of the Series.
Six years after his white-ball mainstay tale for India began, Rahul will be making his way back to Harare as the team's skipper. He has been absent for a while, but he is now returning. An injury to the groyne was followed by sports hernia surgery and a positive Covid-19 test.
Since the Men's T20 World Cup will be in October-November and the Asia Cup will begin on August 27, the focus of Thursday's game, the first of the three ODIs between India and Zimbabwe, will be on how Rahul and Deepak Chahar perform.
Similar to Rahul, who last participated in a competitive cricket match in May, Chahar last played in the T20Is against the West Indies in February. He had to spend more time away from playing action after tearing his quadriceps throughout the series and developing a back problem.
With back-to-back matches coming up, the ODIs against Zimbabwe would give both Rahul and Chahar a chance to regain their playing rhythm in international cricket. It will be intriguing to see if Rahul comes to bat in the same position or gets fit at the top of the order, like he does in Tests and T20Is. Rahul has had success as the number five batter in ODIs.
Others, including Avesh Khan, Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ishan Kishan, would be eager to build on their recent success.
On the other hand, Zimbabwe is full of confidence and enters the series against India after winning the T20I and ODI series against Bangladesh. They have the opportunity to assess their ODI cricket performance against top opposition throughout the series against India, as well as score some significant points for the ODI World Cup Super League in 2023.
Sikander Raza, their talismanic all-rounder, has been their batting talisman, scoring undefeated hundreds (135 and 117) in victorious chases of 304 and 291 in back-to-back games.
Both captain Regis Chakabva and Innocent Kaia provided him with strong support throughout the first and second chases, respectively. However, Zimbabwe must have a strong top order if they want to prevent collapses of 62-3, 27-3, and 18-3 against Bangladesh. Luke Jongwe has the key in the ball.
Despite the absence of Craig Ervine (hamstring), Blessing Muzarabani (thigh tear), Tendai Chatara (collarbone fracture), Wellington Masakadza (shoulder injury), and Sean Williams (personal reasons), Zimbabwe has demonstrated the ability to shock opponents and will attempt to earn just their fifth ODI victory over India in 24 home games.
India: KL Rahul (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar and Shahbaz Ahmed.
Zimbabwe: Regis Chakabva (captain), Tanaka Chivanga, Bradley Evans, Luke Jongwe, Ryan Burl, Innocent Kaia, Kaitano Takudzwanashe, Clive Madande, Wesley Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, John Masara, Tony Munyonga, Richard Ngarava, Victor Nyauchi, Sikandar Raza, Milton Shumba and Donald Tiripano