Shubman Gill has been handed the captain's armband as Rohit Sharma and other senior players such as Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested after playing in the T20 World Cup, currently underway in the Caribbean. Gill has captaincy experience after leading Gujarat Titans in the last season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after Hardik Pandya left for Mumbai Indians. Although Titans did not have the most memorable campaign, Gill impressed fans and pundits with his tactical acumen. Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma and Nitish Reddy have received their maiden India call-ups after performing admirably in IPL. Abhishek was pivotal in SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) reaching the final of the tournament. The talented southpaw scored 484 runs at a quick clip and also chipped in with a few overs in the middle.   India's new T20I era Meanwhile, Riyan would occupy the middle order spot in the Indian batting lineup after a breakout season with Rajasthan Royals where he batted at no. 4. Nitish is expected to be Hardik Pandya's replacement as the Indian T20 squad goes under significant changes post the World Cup. With Gautam Gambhir set to take the head coach job, according to media reports, Nitish could be a pivotal part of the T20 team going forward. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer, Tushar Deshpande, has also been rewarded with India cap after he picked up 17 wickets in the 2024 season. Also featuring in the 15-member squad are Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who have been on the bench during the T20 World Cup. Both Sanju and Yashasvi lit up the IPL with their performances and would be roaring to assume a bigger responsibility in the squad. The tour gets underway on July 6 at the iconic Harare Sports Club, which will also host the remaining four matches over the course of next eight days. India squad for Zimbabwe tour: Shubman Gill (c) Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Nitish Reddy, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande