5 Indian players to watch out for in the Zimbabwe tour

India’ tour of Zimbabwe will be a chance for the young Indian team to leave a mark in the minds of the selectors who have shown their faith on them. The team, under the wise leadership of MS Dhoni, mainly consists of fresh names who have no or very little international experience. However, such tours are always full of surprises. The young guns haven’t played in Zimbabwe and getting used to the conditions would be a challenge. However, their track record shows that they have the capability to overcome the relatively easier yet tricky challenge. 1. Karun Nair: Karun Nair of Delhi Daredevils celebrates his half century during an IPL match. (Photo Source: IANS) Karun Nair has been Karnataka’s batting mainstay for the past couple of domestic season. He had an outstanding debut season for Karnataka in 2013/14 and was a vital performer for his domestic side which clinched the Ranji and Irani titles that year. IPL 2016 saw him reap the benefits of his Domestic and India A performances after he was fetched by DD for a handsome sum of 4 crore. He justified his price tag by putting up a satisfactory show, scoring 357 runs in 14 games with a best knock of 83*. Nair, in fact, could have made his India debut earlier after he was called in as a replacement for injured Murali Vijay for the tour of Sri Lanka in 2015. Unfortunately, he did not get the opportunity there but the Zimbabwe tour will see him shoulder the middle order responsibility of the team. 2. Faiz Fazal: Faiz Fazal. (Photo by SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP/Getty Images) Faiz Fazal is the only name in the squad who has landed in Zimbabwe purely on the basis of strong and consistent performances at the domestic level. Fazal was the most surprising pick for this tour. He was not part of the IPL auction in February. In fact, he had no IPL contract since 2012. Fazal has been Vidarbha’s batting mainstay for over a decade and has over 5000 runs in 79 first-class matches to his name. His numbers in the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy season – 559 runs in 15 innings at 39.92 might be quite underwhelming but he is the man for big occasions has put up stellar performances in crucial matches in the past. 3. Yuzvendra Chahal: Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo Source: BCCI) Yuzvendra Chahal has been doing well in the IPL and as well as for his state side Haryana in the past few years. The nippy leg break bowler had a breakthrough season in year playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore. He was very instrumental in their bowling success and was Virat Kohli’s go-to man during crisis situations. He backed his wonderful run in the 2015 season by finishing this season tournament as the second highest wicket of the season with 21 scalps at 19.09. 4. Mandeep Singh: Mandeep Singh. (Photo Source: BCCI) Mandeep Singh is one of the leading young batsmen in India. Despite struggling for consistency, the hard-hitting, top order batsman is one of the key batsmen in the Punjab line-up. His time in the IPL helped him evolve into a better batsman. After struggling in the first two seasons, he announced his arrival to the big league after he was named as the tournament’s “Rising Star” in 2012, playing for Kings XI Punjab. He was later picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2015 season but hasn’t got much opportunity to play in the star studded line-up. 5. Jayant Yadav: Jayant Yadav. (Photo Source: BCCI) An off-spinner and a handy batsman in the lower order, Jayant Yadav made his first-class debut from Haryana in 2011. Four year later, he made his IPL debut in 2015 after being picked by Delhi Daredevils. However, he has got very less number of opportunities in the past two seasons. Yadav only played three matches in his first IPL season, but showed he could be economical, finishing with an economy rate of 4.14. In the just concluded 2016 season, he got only five games in which he took 2 wickets at 7.35. His IPL record may not look extraordinary but it can be assumed that the left arm spinner hasn’t shown his full potential yet.

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5 Indian players to watch out for in the Zimbabwe tour

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