Tushar Deshpande Joins Indian Squad As Fifth Debutant In Zimbabwe T20I Series

In the ongoing series against Zimbabwe, pacer Tushar Deshpande became the fifth player to debut for India. Skipper Shubman Gill chose to field first in the fourth T20I at Harare Sports Club on Saturday, July 13.

Deshpande joined Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Sai Sudharsan in making their first T20I appearances for India during this series. His call-up was well-deserved after impressive performances in the IPL and domestic cricket.

India XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill (c), Abhishek Sharma, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande, Khaleel Ahmed.

Zimbabwe XI: Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (c), Johnathan Campbell, Faraz Akram, Clive Madande (wk), Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara.

"Very happy to be here. It all goes back to my childhood days when I dreamt of playing for my country. Being here wearing the blue feels very proud. Means a lot to me. The atmosphere is really great here," Deshpande said before the match.

"Playing for CSK in the IPL helped me. That experience will surely help me in the internationals. I started as a batsman, so that comes naturally to me, looking to refine it and I have been working on it. Overall the atmosphere in the team is chill."

Tushar Deshpande is all set to make his international Debut!

He receives the cap ???? in presence of his wife ????????

Go well! ????

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BCCI (@BCCI) July 13, 2024

At the toss, Gill stated: "We'll bowl first. It looks like a fresh wicket. Hopefully there's going to be something in it for the fast bowlers. Death bowling is where we can improve. We got a little complacent (in the previous match). Tushar Deshpande makes his debut in place of Avesh Khan."

Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza mentioned that he would have chosen to bat first if he had won the toss. He also revealed that Faraz Akram replaced Wellington Masakadza in their lineup.

"We wanted to bat first. The wicket tends to get slower and slower. We've got a vision for 2026; the only way to get better is quality game time. Hopefully our top three can click. Our idea is for all three departments to perform. The boys are hungry. Wellington Masakadza misses out; Faraz Akram comes in," Raza said.

Tushar Deshpande expressed his joy at fulfilling his childhood dream of playing for India and acknowledged how playing for Chennai Super Kings helped him prepare for international cricket.