Sanju Samson has been left out of India's T20I squad for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour.
Sanju Samson’s omission hogged the headlines as the BCCI Men's Selection Committee on Monday (July 6) announced India’s squad for the upcoming three-T20I series against Zimbabwe.
The wicketkeeper-batter was not considered in the 15-member roster despite delivering the Player-of-the-Tournament performance in India’s T20 World Cup triumph earlier this year.
Samson’s snub became a major talking point because it came only two days after he made way for teenage prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the starting XI for the second T20I against England at Old Trafford.
This move by the selectors has left the fans and experts wondering whether Samson is going to be phased out of the T20I scheme of things going forward.
Meanwhile, a report published in Cricbuzz claims that "the decision appears to be part of a broader plan."
"When else can the new players be tried?" the report quoted a source as saying.
The report further stated that Samson is an important part of the BCCI selectors' long-term strategy. His absence is a temporary arrangement to test younger players.
The report also narrated a theroy that Samson 'voluntarily' sat out in Manchester so the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi could make his international debut.
Apart from Samson, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna—who were part of the Ireland and England tours—are also not included in the squad for the Zimbabwe T20I series. Newly included faces for the series include Prabhsimran Singh, Harsh Dubey, Yash Thakur, and Ashok Sharma.
While the BCCI sources maintain that Sanju Samson has been "rested and not dropped" for the Zimbabwe T20I series to give exposure to younger players, some reports indicate his recent low scores have prompted the board to consider last-minute changes to the 2026 Asian Games squad.
Samson continued to remain absent from India’s playing XI as the visitors went with the opening pair of Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma for the ongoing third T20I against England at Trent Bridge.