Tushar Deshpande becomes 115th T20I player for India

India have made one change to their playing XI for the fourth T20I of the series against Zimbabwe, in Harare, with Chennai Super Kings pacer Tushar Deshpande replacing Avesh Khan. In the process, Deshpande has become the 115th player to have represented the country in the shortest version of the sport. Only Pakistan, with 116 players, have fielded more than India in the shortest version of the sport.

"Very happy to be here. It all goes back to my childhood days when I dreamt of playing for my country. Being here wearing the blue feels very proud. Means a lot to me. The atmosphere is really great here. Playing for CSK in the IPL helped me. That experience will surely help me in the internationals. I started as a batsman, so that comes naturally to me, looking to refine it and I have been working on it. Overall the atmosphere in the team is chill," Deshpande said in the pre-match interview with the host broadcaster.

Deshpande, who has represented Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, has 42 wickets in the league, 39 of which have come for CSK alone. In the last two seasons, he has bagged 38 wickets.

Notably, among all Indian bowlers with 100+ T20 wickets, his strike rate of 15.00 is the best. Jasprit Bumrah is also the only Indian pacer (with 100+ wickets) who has a better bowling average than Deshpande's 21.3.

The Mumbai pacer was crucial for CSK in IPL 2024, across all phases, which translated to an India call-up under Shubman Gill's leadership. He has also reportedly been given the fast-bowling contract by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as a late inclusion following his selection for the Zimbabwe tour.

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