Sanju Samson left out as India announce squad for Zimbabwe T20Is

NEW DELHI: Player of the Tournament at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, Sanju Samson, has been left out of India's squad for the three-match away series against Zimbabwe, scheduled to be played from July 23 to 26.

Samson, who played a pivotal role in leading India to the successful defence of the T20 World Cup title as he accumulated 321 runs in five innings at a remarkable average of 80.25, has been unable to maintain his run of form after the 20-team mega event, as he managed to score just six runs in three fixtures.

The right-handed batter was thus replaced by 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in India's lineup for the second T20I against England, which the visitors lost by four wickets in Manchester. Samson, however, is a part of India's full-strength squad for the Asian Games, slated to be held in Japan in September.

Although the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) did not specify the reason for his exclusion, he was among six changes to their T20I squad that is currently playing a five-match series in England, which they lead 1-0.

Besides Samson, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar, and Ravi Bishnoi were left out.

They were replaced by middle-order batter Rinku Singh and fast bowler Mayank Yadav, who made their comebacks to India's T20I fold, while wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh, pacers Yash Thakur and Ashok Sharma, and allrounder Harsh Dubey got their maiden call-ups for the shortest international format.

India squad for T20I series against Zimbabwe

Shreyas Iyer (c), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Varun Chakaravarthy, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav and Prabhsimran Singh (wk).