Young India for Zimbabwe tour: Gill to lead, Riyan Parag first from NE to get India call-up
New Delhi, Jun 24: Dashing Assam batter Riyan Parag on Monday became the first north-eastern cricketer to get an India call-up as a new-look T20 squad led by Shubman Gill was unveiled for next month's five-match series in Zimbabwe which will not feature any of the senior stars.
The series starting July 6 will be held entirely in Harare.
The national selection committee didn't pick any of the first team players, who are currently playing the T20 World Cup in the West Indies.
All the seniors like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested after a gruelling three-half months, including the hectic IPL.
Even the likes of Shivam Dube, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav have been given a break. It is believed that the selectors want to broaden the pool of players looking at the 2026 T20 World Cup in India.
The announced squad marks a landmark for 21-year-old Parag, who had a stellar IPL season for the Rajasthan Royals with 573 runs which put him in the reckoning.
He became the first player from his state and region to get a call-up in a senior national team. Joining him from the RR camp were his franchise captain Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel as the two wicket-keepers in the side.
Punjab skipper Abhishek Sharma, who had a mind-blowing IPL opening with Travis Head for the Sunrisers Hyderabad and his franchise teammate Nitish Reddy from Andhra Pradesh are among the three rookies in the squad of 15 where only Mukesh Kumar is on the wrong side of 30s.
The average age of the squad is roughly around 25.
Reddy, a seam-bowling all-rounder is someone who the national selectors have been keeping an eye on for some time. His solid IPL performances and need to have some back-up plan for Hardik Pandya has led to his selection.
Boost for Gill
Gill, who led Gujarat Titans this IPL season, was unlucky to miss out on a final squad berth for the T20 World Cup.
But for the Zimbabwe tour, the selectors have included all the World Cup stand-bys -- Gill, pacers Avesh Khan, Khaleel Ahmed and finisher Rinku Singh along with Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
It is understood that the committee was not keen on seniors like Pandya and Suryakumar, both contenders for captaincy, playing this series.
In case of Yuzvendra Chahal, he is a senior enough bowler and it is believed that playing him in Zimbabwe won't serve any purpose considering that he made his debut against the same opposition nearly a decade back.
Ravi Bishnoi, the third choice leg-spinner, who has always done well for India with 36 wickets from 24 T20Is, makes a comeback. However, there are no specialist left-arm spinners save part-timer Abhishek in the squad.
Lifeline for Washington Sundar
One of the most laudable moves by the selection committee is the left-field selection of Tamil Nadu all-rounder Washington Sundar, who was denied his fair share of opportunities in the wake of the Impact Player rule. He couldn't make the playing XI of SRH during most of the season.
Injuries and combination did hurt "Washy" as he is fondly called by his teammates and one of the silent heroes of the 2021 'Gabba Victory' might find a way to claw back into collective consciousness after a dry couple of years.
The fact that there aren't too many quality off-spinners, who can bowl in Powerplay, also helped his case.
Harshit, Dayal miss out
Two lion-hearted IPL performers, Harshit Rana of Kolkata Knight Riders and Yash Dayal of Royal Challengers Bengaluru, missed out as Mukesh Kumar, who has had decent outings for India, was preferred for his experience in death bowling and the ability to consistently send down wide yorkers.
Chennai Super Kings' Tushar Deshpande, who had 17 wickets with an economy of 8.89 in the IPL, was picked keeping the tracks in mind.
Samson and Jurel are Nos 2 and 3
Ishan Kishan seems to have fallen off the pecking order after his differences with the team management and is currently not even among the top three wicketkeepers in the shortest version.
Jurel, who had an impressive Test debut earlier this year, is the second keeper for the series behind Sanju Samson.
Squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), 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.
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Narayana Guru's philosophy counters majoritarianism amid social divisions, says Siddaramaiah
Varkala (Kerala) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said saint and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru's philosophy remains a powerful answer to rising majoritarianism and social divisions in an India that boasts of economic progress even as unity weakens.
Speaking at the 93rd Sivagiri Pilgrim Conclave at Sivagiri Math, founded by Guru here, Siddaramaiah, the chief guest at the function, lamented that today's India faces a paradox where "we boast of economic growth, digital expansion and global influence, and yet social solidarity is weakening, and hatred is being normalised".
He said caste has not disappeared, but it has just changed its grammar.
Noting that communalism no longer speaks openly of hierarchy, it speaks the language of identity, fear, and majoritarian pride, Siddaramaiah said Guru foresaw this danger.
"He understood that when religion is separated from compassion and ethics, it becomes a tool of domination," Siddaramaiah said.
"Guru's philosophy directly counters religious majoritarianism, cultural nationalism without equality and identity politics without justice. His message reminds us that nation-building without social justice is merely state-building, not democracy," he said.
The Karnataka chief minister said it was no coincidence that after meeting Guru, Mahatma Gandhi sharpened his stance against untouchability, took a stand in favour of a simple life, and refused to attend weddings if they were not inter-caste.
He said that Rabindranath Tagore's idea of the "universal man" was inspired by the works of Guru.
He also shaped the ethical universe of Tagore, who acknowledged that dividing human beings in the name of religion is the greatest injustice, the CM said.
"Thus, Guru stands at the ideological crossroads of modern India by bridging spirituality, rationalism, humanism and social justice," Siddaramaiah said. The conclave was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
According to Siddramaiah, Guru's influence was not confined to Kerala.
"His historic dialogue with Mahatma Gandhi in 1925 altered the intellectual course of the freedom movement. It made Gandhiji confront a fundamental truth that “Caste is not cultural diversity, it is institutionalised injustice," he said.
Using the mango tree analogy, Guru revealed that though leaves differ, their essence is the same, making Mahatma Gandhi realise that caste and religion, not diversity, are the world's deepest social problems, the Karnataka CM said. Siddaramaiah also spoke about Guru's impact on Karnataka.
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"Though geographically rooted in Kerala, Guru's influence crossed linguistic and state boundaries, shaping reform movements along the Karnataka coast, especially in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, and parts of Malnad," he said.
He said the Billava, Elava, Ediga, Mogaveera, and other backward communities of coastal Karnataka drew inspiration from Guru's call for dignity, education, and organisation.
"His message strengthened anti-caste assertion and self-respect movements in the region. This is one of the main reasons for strong resistance to attempts by communal forces to divide the people in the region," he said.
The chief minister said Basavanna's Kayaka (dignified labour) finds a direct echo in Narayana Guru's insistence on economic self-reliance alongside spiritual growth.
"Basavanna democratised devotion through Vachanas, Narayana Guru democratized divinity itself, asserting that human beings' exclusions are not graded by birth, but equal by existence. Both transformed religion from a tool of exclusion into a language of social justice," he said.
Siddaramaiah opined that the Sivagiri Pilgrimage cannot remain a yearly ritual.
"It must become a continuous social movement," the chief minister said and called upon religious leaders to speak against hatred, scholars to take Guru's philosophy into classrooms, youth to challenge injustice, not inherit silence and political institutions to align governance with ethical values," he said.
Concluding his address, Siddaramaiah called for an India rooted in dignity, dialogue and equal humanity, saying this was the democratic vision shared by Narayana Guru, Mahatma Gandhi and the Sivagiri movement.
