India will tour Zimbabwe for three T20Is later this month, and the absence of Sanju Samson from the squad is likely to raise eyebrows.
The BCCI named a 15-member squad that will tour Zimbabwe later this month under Shreyas Iyer. Samson did not find a place in the squad. There was no accompanying statement mentioning the reason of his omission.
The decision came a couple of days after Samson was dropped from India's playing XI against England in the second T20I, and four games after he was named the Player of the Tournament in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Across five matches, Samson garnered 321 runs at 80.25 in the World Cup with three fifties, while striking at nearly two runs a ball.
In the two T20Is against Ireland last week, Samson managed scores of five and a duck. He then made a solitary run in the England series opener, making it difficult to sustain his position with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi waiting in the wings.
India also recalled Rinku Singh and Mayank Yadav, while giving another chance to Suryansh Shedge in Nitish Kumar Reddy's absence. The squad includes two uncapped players, fast bowler Ashok Sharma and wicketkeeper Prabhsimran Singh (presumably Samson's replacement).
India's squad for Zimbabwe T20I series
Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Varun Chakaravarthy, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav.
India will play three T20I matches against Zimbabwe on July 23, 25 and 26, at the Harare Sports Club.
India's updated squad for the England ODIs
India have also made a change to their ODI squad for the three ODIs in England. Shivam Dube has replaced Reddy. The squad now reads:
Shubman Gill (c), Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Shivam Dube.
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