India vs Zimbabwe 2016: India's predicted playing XI

Indian cricket team will play 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is against Zimbabwe later this month — Indian cricket team to play 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is against Zimbabwe later this month

Openers:

KL Rahul and Mandeep Singh during their under-19 days

The selectors have picked two frontline openers in KL Rahul and Faiz Fazal in the squad. KL Rahul is certain to open for India, the other opener’s spot is up for the grabs.

Faiz Fazal will get a stiff competition from Mandeep Singh for the slot. Though Mandeep is not a frontline opener, he has a very good record at the top of the order and that might make the selectors go in favour of the Punjab batsman alongside Rahul at the top of the order.

Fazal has a fantastic record in the first-class games and when it comes to the List A format, he has the tendency to score runs at a slow pace which is evident from his strike-rate (just over 66) in List A games. As a result of his inability to score runs at a quicker pace, he doesn’t have an IPL contract to his name.

On the other hand, Mandeep Singh has the ability to score runs at a brisk pace and it will help Rahul to play his natural game.