India, July 8 -- When Vidarbha pacer Yash Thakur steps into the Indian dressing room for his possible national debut during the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe, it wouldn't exactly be the story of a fresh-faced rookie.

It would be a tale of perseverance built over nearly a decade of domestic grind, fuelled by a father's ambition, who tragically did not live to see the dream finally coming true. The 27-year-old Thakur received perhaps the most important phone call of his professional life so far while waiting to collect his baggage at the Nagpur airport after returning from India A's tour of Sri Lanka recently.

It was to inform of his maiden India selection for the tour of Zimbabwe tour that will feature three T20 Internationals from July 23 t...