The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced three changes to India’s squad for the 5-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. The trio of Sai Sudharsan, Jitesh Sharma, and Harshit Rana have been added to the roster for the first two matches, as replacements for Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who are still in Barbados.

Originally slated to join the Zimbabwe-bound squad for the upcoming series starting Saturday, 6th July, the trio will travel to India first with the rest of the ICC T20 World Cup-winning Indian squad before departing for Harare. Samson, Dube, and Jaiswal couldn’t fly out earlier from Barbados as a hurricane shut down the airport at the island nation. The unforeseen circumstances have forced BCCI to name replacements for the three players.

India’s squad for 1st & 2nd 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

Impact of Hurricane Beryl and player availability

Pacer Khaleel Ahmed and batter Rinku Singh, travelling reserves for the T20 World Cup, are also currently in Barbados. The BCCI has not named replacements for the duo even though they are in the squad for the Zimbabwe series.

Sudharsan is currently playing county cricket for Surrey at the Oval in London. He is expected to leave for Harare immediately.

Players still stuck in Barbados

India’s T20 World Cup-winning team is expected to fly from Barbados today, with the airport expected to be reopened. The World Cup-winning team, originally scheduled to depart from Barbados on Monday at 11 AM local time (8:30 PM IST), has been stranded in Barbados for the past two days due to Hurricane Beryl, which resulted in airports and businesses shutting down.

The hurricane, which has intensified into an extremely dangerous Category 5 storm in the past hours, has sparked warnings of life-threatening winds and dangerous storm conditions. According to the latest report from the National Hurricane Centre of the US, Beryl made landfall in the Windward Islands as it churned towards Jamaica, bringing life-threatening winds and storms to Barbados and nearby islands.

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These adjustments and the challenging travel conditions highlight the resilience and adaptability of the Indian cricket team and the BCCI’s commitment to ensuring a competitive squad for the Zimbabwe series despite unforeseen challenges.