Indian skipper MS Dhoni said that the Zimbabwe tour was a learning curve for youngsters. India defeated Zimbabwe in both ODIs and T20I series.
India thrashed Zimbabwe 3-0 in One-day International series while defeated Zimbabwe in T20 series by 2-1. India won the last T20 match by only 3 runs.
“The ODI and T20 series were good exposure for the youngsters. Personally, I feel we got more from the T20s than the ODIs,” said Dhoni at the post-match presentation ceremony.
India lost the first T20 match by 2 runs. In the second T20, India thrashed Zimbabwe by 10 wickets.
“Usually in this format, the games get close. Zimbabwe did well, batted and bowled well,” admitted Dhoni, adding, “They need more games to get better.”
On the captain himself not getting to bat much during the series, Dhoni said, “Difficult one, we did what was right to put in the opposition (in the ODIs). We decided to do what was the right way to play cricket.”
Dhoni said that this series helped the team develop a pool of 10-12 players. “In the fast bowling department, we need a good pool of players. Now we can proudly say we have 10-12 players who can play for the country,” he said.
KL Rahul was the biggest positive in the series with good performances in T20 and One-day International series. Bumrah also performed well. Barinder Sran also bowled in the entire series. Kedar Jadhav also performed well.
India did a brilliant job in One-day International series with a 3-0 thrashing of Zimbabwe. While in T20 matches, two of three matches were close enough. Indian team lost the first T20 by 2 runs. Mandeep Singh also played well in T20 series. Chahal also performed well in the series.
Zimbabwe tour was a chance for the Indian youngsters to impress the selectors. Indian team now has a pool of 10-12 players in the future, said MS Dhoni.