Sanju Rested as India Names Zimbabwe Squad

The BCCI has rested Sanju Samson for India's upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe despite his impressive performances in the 2026 T20 World Cup and IPL. After a string of low scores against Ireland and in the first T20 against England, young opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi grabbed attention with an impressive debut, while Prabhsimran Singh earned a place as a wicketkeeper batter following his strong IPL season.

A senior BCCI official clarified that Samson's omission was part of workload management rather than a reflection of his form. The official said Samson, a senior player, has already been selected for the Asian Games squad, and taking him to Zimbabwe only to keep him on the bench would not have been beneficial.

Shreyas Iyer will captain the Indian team, with Tilak Varma serving as vice captain. Rinku Singh and Mayank Yadav have returned to the squad, while Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, and Ravi Bishnoi have been left out. India will play three T20Is against Zimbabwe in Harare on July 23, 25, and 27.