A 15-member India cricket squad,led by Virat Kohli,left here this morning for Zimbabwe to take on the hosts in a five-game One-Day International series commencing on July 24. The squad is without inspirational captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni who has been given a break by the national selectors. The selectors have also rested three pace bowlers Ishant Sharma,Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav along with spinner R Ashwin. India are visiting the African nation after three years. In June 2010,an India team led by Suresh Raina took part in a triangular ODI series in Zimbabwe but came a cropper,failing to reach the final. India made amends when they blanked Zimbabwe 2-0 in the Twenty20 series held immediately after the conclusion of the tri-series final won by Lanka. Apart from Raina,Kohli was also part of that squad as vice-captain and it included Ravindra Jadeja,Dinesh Karthik,Rohit Sharma and Vinay Kumar who are members of the current touring team. The current squad: Virat Kohli (Capt),Shikhar Dhawan,Rohit Sharma,Dinesh Karthik,Cheteshwar Pujara,Suresh Raina,Ambati Rayudu,Ajinkya Rahane,Ravindra Jadeja,Amit Mishra,Parvez Rasool,Mohammed Shami,Vinay Kumar,Jaidev Unadkat and Mohit Sharma. The match-schedule: Jul 24: 1st ODI Harare Sports Club,Harare Jul 26: 2nd ODI Harare Sports Club,Harare Jul 28: 3rd ODI Harare Sports Club,Harare Jul 31: 4th ODI Queens Sports Club,Bulawayo Aug 3: 5th ODI Queens Sports Club,Bulawayo.
