KL Rahul returns to captain India on Zimbabwe tour

Rahul has received the green signal from the BCCI medical team for the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe next week. The opener has been out of action for a while with a sports hernia, with Covid-19 extending his stint on the sidelines.

Shikhar Dhawan was initially named as the captain for this tour, but with Rahul being given the go-ahead, Dhawan will take up the vice-captain duties.

Dhawan had led the Indian side to a 3-0 drubbing of West Indies last month and was subsequently named as the captain for the Zimbabwe tour with senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya rested.

Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Deepak Chahar were the others who returned to the ODI squad after recovering from injuries. Rahul Tripathi was the other new face named in the squad.

Rahul last played for India in February against the West Indies after leading the team in South Africa in the second Test match and then the entire ODI leg.

India ODI squad: KL Rahul (c), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Deepak Chahar

The tour will commence on 18 August with Harare set to host all three ODIs. The series is available to watch on ICC.tv (in select regions)