The T20 World Cup 2026 hero, Sanju Samson, has been dropped from the India squad for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe, which is set to be played in the fourth week of July 2026.
This comes a few days after he was dropped from the playing 11 in the ongoing T20I series of India’s tour of England to bring in Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Sanju Samson, who played a key role in playoffs stage of the T20 World Cup earlier this year, had a rough patch during the T20I series against Ireland and 1st T20I match against England.
He came under pressure when a 15-year-old prodigy awaited his senior international debut. Eventually, the wk-batter was dropped for the 2nd T20I in Manchester.
On the other hand, Prabhsimran Singh, Ashok Sharma and Yash Thakur have earned maiden call-up for the T20I squad.
Meanwhile, leading pace bowlers like Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana have been left opening the door for fresh faces.
On the other hand, Rinku Singh will be returning to the T20I setup to feature in India’s Super Eight clash against South Africa in this year’s tournament.
Mayank Yadav and Harsh Dubey have also been named in the India squad for the upcoming T20I series.
India’s previous tour of Zimbabwe came in 2024, where the Men in Blues secured a convincing 4-1 victory.
The last time both sides clashed in the Super Eight of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in Chennai, India, secured a win, ultimately claiming the title in the edition.
The India tour of Zimbabwe 2026 begins with the T20I series, with the first match to be played on July 23 at Harare Sports Club, Harare.
India Squad for Zimbabwe T20Is: Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Varun Chakaravarthy, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Prabhsimran Singh
