All-rounders Abhishek Sharma and Riyan Parag, opened up on their maiden Team India call-ups ahead of the T20I series during the tour of Zimbabwe, starting on July 6 onwards.
The first match of the five-game series will be played on July 6 at the Harare Sports Club. The last T20I will be played on July 14 at the same venue, which will host all five games.
After India reached Harare, in a video posted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Abhishek, who had a breakthrough Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season with 484 runs in 16 games at a strike rate of 204.21 and 42 sixes, said that he received a call from Punjab teammate Shubman Gill, who also happens to be the captain on the tour, after his selection.
“I received a call from Gill after the selection, I felt very good. Before my interview, when I reached home, my parents were giving interviews. I felt proud. Ever since I started from day one, I had the dream of playing for India. I knew if I kept working hard I would get an opportunity but did not know I would go outside India, to Zimbabwe. This feels like a reunion,” said Abhishek.
Parag, who bossed the IPL with his batting and emerged as the third-highest run-getter with 573 runs in 16 matches, including four half-centuries, hilariously said that he feels so excited about playing for India that he misplaced his passport and phone.
“Ever since I was a kid, it was a dream to travel like this. Though we play matches, but traveling, wearing Indian clothes, is a dream. It is a new team, almost, a lot of new and old faces. Ever since I was a kid, I dreamt of it. There will be a special connection with Zimbabwe,” said Parag.