On the back of a breakthrough season in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rajasthan Royals batsman Ryan Prag has been rewarded with an India call-up for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. Parag was the third highest run-scorer in IPL 2024 with 573 runs in 16 matches. Despite discussions regarding his selection for the T20 World Cup, Prague was not included in the squad for the tournament, which India won by defeating South Africa in the final.

Prague claimed he would not watch the World Cup after being overlooked by the selectors, saying he would prefer to play in just one.

“I’m not actually going to watch. I’ll just watch the final. I don’t want to watch cricket anymore because I want to play the World Cup. I think it’s a good feeling. I want to play the World Cup, once I look at these guys so I think I can do something else, I think I want to do something. I’m missing something and just want to go out there and bust some balls,” Parag said said during a conversation on the TRS podcast.

However, after his selection in the squad for the Zimbabwe series, former India pacer S Sreesanth has slammed the youngster for his comments.

“Some youngsters have even said that they will not watch the World Cup because they have not been selected. I would say first you should be patriotic then you should love cricket. I would say first you should Should be patriotic, then yes, you should be a cricket lover but those who have chosen the team should be supported with their whole heart, mind and spirit,” Sreesanth said on Star Sports.

Meanwhile, Shibman Gill will lead the Indian cricket team in Rohit Sharma’s absence for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe. The team travels to Zimbabwe immediately after the T20 World Cup 2024 where they will play 5 T20Is between July 6-14.

India squad for T20 series against Zimbabwe: Hubman Gill (captain), Yashvi Jaiswal, Rituraj Gaekwad, Abhishek Sharma, Rinku Singh, Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jural, Nitish Reddy, Ryan Prag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Khalil Ahmed , Avish Ahmed Mukesh Kumar, Tushar Deshpande.