Ravi Bishnoi Replaces Varun in T20I Squad
The injured Varun Chakravarthy will be replaced by Ravi Bishnoi in the Indian team for the three Twenty20 Internationals in Zimbabwe later this month. After it was determined that Varun, who missed the last two Twenty20 Internationals in England due to a hamstring injury, would require extra time to heal, Bishnoi was added to the original team.
In India’s five-T20I series in England, Ravi Bishnoi participated in the first two matches.
In the second T20I at Old Trafford, the legspinner bowled for 60 runs in his four overs; he also hit three back-foot no-balls and gave up two sixes and a four off the ensuing free-hits. However, India was not allowed to bowl in the first T20I, which was cancelled after they had batted.
Varun’s injury evaluation and rehabilitation will take place at the Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. Due to a hamstring injury, fast bowler Harshit Rana is virtually out of the forthcoming three-match ODI series in England, thus he is expected to accompany him there.
Interestingly, Rana’s injury to the same muscle caused him to miss both the IPL 2026 and the T20 World Cup; Mohammed Siraj took his spot in India’s 15-man roster. Before the most recent setback, he played the first two T20Is in England and made a comeback during the T20Is in Ireland.
Varun, who has recently battled with form—managing only one wicket in the two T20Is in England while going at 10.28 per over—has suffered another setback with the hamstring issue. He played despite agony after breaking his left toe late in the 2026 Indian Premier League, missing the Twenty20 Internationals against Afghanistan and Ireland as he recovered.
Prince Yadav, who has previously only played for the England T20I team, might decide to remain for the tour’s ODI leg. With the 50-over World Cup just over a year away, the selectors are eager for Jasprit Bumrah to play frequently in ODIs, so his comeback will help India’s pace stocks for the series. The ODI team’s other front-line seamers are Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, and Prasidh Krishna.
On July 20, India’s team is scheduled to arrive in Harare for the Zimbabwe T20Is. After the ODI series in England, normal head coach Gautam Gambhir and his team will take a break, with VVS Laxman, the head of the CoE, taking over as head coach along with assistant coaches Sunil Joshi and Hrishikesh Kanitkar.
In the wake of the series defeats in England and Ireland, Gambhir, BCCI’s top brass, and T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer are also anticipated to be at the center of a review that the board will undertake. India experienced a number of unwelcome landmarks during the twin visits, such as their first-ever loss to Ireland, a six-match losing run in Twenty20 Internationals, and their first multi-match bilateral T20I series loss against England.
