Rajasthan-born fast bowler Ashok Sharma made his India debut on Thursday (July 23) in the first T20I of the three-match series against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club. The 24-year-old pacer, who represents Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), earned his maiden international cap after an impressive IPL 2026 campaign, where his express pace attracted widespread attention. Ashok was preferred over Yash Thakur in India's playing XI for the series opener.
Before making his T20I debut, Ashok had featured in 16 T20 matches, picking up 28 wickets. In the IPL, he has played six matches for Gujarat Titans and claimed six wickets. Ashok became the 23rd player to make his T20I debut for India on Zimbabwean soil. During India's previous tour of Zimbabwe in July 2024, Abhishek Sharma, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Tushar Deshpande and Sai Sudharsan also received their maiden T20I caps.
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India elects to bowl first
India captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first in the opening T20I at the Harare Sports Club. The 31-year-old right-handed batter, who replaced Suryakumar Yadav as India's T20I captain in June 2026, will be looking to secure his first victory as skipper. Shreyas has captained India in seven T20Is but is still searching for his maiden win. Under his leadership, India lost both T20Is against Ireland in June 2026 before suffering four consecutive defeats against England earlier this month.
India playing XI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (WK), Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Prince Yadav, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav.
Zimbabwe Playing XI: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (WK), Ben Curran, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (C), Ryan Burl, Wessly Madhevere, Brad Evans, Newman Nyamhuri, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani.
