New Delhi | The selectors continued their relentless push towards the future as World Cup winning batter Sanju Samson was on Monday left out from India’s squad for the three T20Is in Zimbabwe later this month.
India will tour Zimbabwe for three T20s on July 23, 25 and 27 and the matches will be played at Harare.
Pacers Yash Thakur and Ashok Sharma, who had a couple of impressive outings for Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2026, were the beneficiaries of that approach, receiving their maiden call-up to the national squad.
Left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey is also another maiden entrant to the 15-member T20 squad after making his ODI debut against Afghanistan recently.
"Mayank Yadav and Ashok Sharma are two of India's fastest bowlers. They are young. If selectors don't try them against even Zimbabwe where will they try," a source privy to selection committee development told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Samson’s place in the squad was given to wicketkeeper batter Prabhsimran Singh, who had an impressive run for Punjab Kings in IPL 2026 and the right-hander was also part of the Indian team for the 2023 Asian Games at Hangzhou.
Samson was replaced with teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the playing eleven for the second T20I against England at Manchester in the ongoing five-match series.
It made the left-hander the youngest ever international cricketer for India, surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
Samson too did not help his cause either, as the Kerala batter courted three successive failures -- twice against Ireland and in the opening T20I against England at Durham, leading to his ouster.
The right-hander was named the Player of the Tournament for his effort in the business end of the tournament.
The 31-year-old also had a reasonable run in this IPL, registering two hundreds.
But the rise of Sooryavanshi and the need to give a longer run to the 15-year-old might have prompted the selectors to overlook Samson from the squad to be led by Shreyas Iyer.
While the BCCI did not specify the reason for Samson’s omission, he was among six players currently in England who failed to make the cut.
"Why is this surprising that Sanju has been rested for Zimbabwe. People who are saying this should know Sanju is in Asian Games squad in September. So those who are criticising selection committee can do a bit of homework. Whats the point of carrying Samson when he wont play. He is a senior guy," the senior source said.
Apart from Samson, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar and Ravi Bishnoi were also left out.
Among them, Harshit, Prasidh and Washington are part of the India ODI squad for the upcoming England series, leading to their absence from the tour to the African nation.
Lower-order batter Rinku Singh and express fast bowler Mayank Yadav made comebacks to the T20I squad.
Yadav has made a return to the squad for the first time since 2024. He played four matches for Lucknow Super Giants without taking a wicket and conceded 11.37 runs an over.
Meanwhile, for the three ODIs against England, the selectors replaced the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy with Shivam Dube.
India’s squad: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (Vice-Captain), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Varun Chakaravarathy, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Prabhsimran Singh (WK).
India’s updated ODI squad vs England
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Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (Vice-Captain), KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Shivam Dube.
