MUMBAI: A second string Indian cricket squad, led by young Suresh Raina, today left for Zimbabwe where they will play a tri-nation series and two Twenty20 internationals against the hosts. The team boarded a Jet Airways flight at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here for Johannesburg from where they will take a connecting flight to Harare.
India will begin their campaign in the tri-nation series, also involving Sri Lanka, on May 28 against the hosts at Bulawayo and then play Sri Lanka on May 30 at the same venue. India''s next two matches will be held in Harare -- against Zimbabwe on June 3 and Sri Lanka on June 5.
The final of the tri-series will be held on June 9 in Harare. The Indians will then play two T20 internationals against Zimbabwe in Harare on June 12 and 13, for which leg-spinner Piyush Chawla will join the squad later.
Experienced members like Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra have been rested for the tour. The squad: Suresh Raina (capt), Virat Kohli (vc), Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rohit Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Pankaj Singh, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Naman Ojha.