CHENNAI: As previously reported by this newspaper, soon after the tour of Caribbean and US, the Indian team will head to Zimbabwe for a short trip to feature in three ODIs.
Although Zimbabwe Cricket was pushing to include T20Is in the tour, the BCCI has agreed only to play the ODIs as it falls under the Super League, which acts as the qualifier for the 2023 World Cup to be staged in India.
After the completion of the England tour, India will head to West Indies to play three ODIs where a team led by Shikhar Dhawan will be in action.
And for the five-match T20Is that will be played in the Caribbean and Florida in the US and ends on August 7, the BCCI is set to field a full-strength XI.
With all the priority now on the T20 World Cup in Australia, the BCCI is planning to send a second-string team to Zimbabwe.
The team is likely to reach Harare - where all the three matches will be played - on August 15 and will play the ODIs on August 18, 20 and 22.
The T20 team, which will comprise of all the regulars will get a couple of weeks rest after the Caribbean tour and then depart to Sri Lanka for the Asia Cup.
Soon after the Asia Cup, India will take on Australia in three T20Is at home before leaving for Down Under in the first week of October to prepare for the World Cup.
While a possibility to host another home series was also in the pipeline, it is understood that the Indian team management wanted the team to fly to Australia as early as possible to get acclimatized to the conditions.
In all likelihood, before the practice matches, there is likely to be a boot camp in Australia.
While an ideal preparation for the World Cup would have been to play a series in Australia, the hosts too have a packed calendar involving a series against England and West Indies at home before the showpiece event. Similarly, even New Zealand are hosting a tri-series.
South Africa is the only team available and there were indications that India might host them after Australia. However, that looks very unlikely as of now.