Axar Patel is in line to make a return to the playing XI as India face off against Zimbabwe in Chennai. Patel was surprisingly omitted from the side for the defeat against South Africa drawing sharp reactions from the fans. Now, staring at a must win game, Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir will turn back to their vice-captain on Thursday.
Axar was rested for the win over Netherlands, before a tactical decision to play Washington Sundar over the vice-captain.
"It’s certainly not to take anything away from Axar and his leadership and how important he is to the team,” Ten Doeschate said after the loss to South Africa.
India are likely to not play Rinku Singh in Chennai. Rinku travelled to Delhi NCR to meet his ailing father midway through the break. While Singh has returned, he has not trained with the team before the Zimbabwe game. Axar fills that hole and provides an additional bowling option.
