First, Captain Suryakumar Yadavand now Player of the Tournament Sanju Samson. Almost four months after winning the T20 World Cup, India decided to move on from two key figures in the squad defending the title at home. Meanwhile: Ajit Agarkarchairman of the senior men’s selection committee, held a press conference explaining the move regarding SKY, much was left to the imagination and interpretation when Samson was left out of the Shreyas Iyer-led squad for Zimbabwe.Not long ago, Samson was the toast of the nation for his business-ending knocks in the multi-nation tournament, but the selectors have been wary of inconsistency on either side of the outings. The opener only made the World Cup XI as the left-handed top-order struggled against off-spin. He repaid the faith, but the disappointing pattern of inconsistency returned even in the IPL and subsequent international fixtures. Add to this a hot Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who makes life uncomfortable for the decision makers. Samson was the original choice in the coaching set-up and received support in press conferences, but other key stakeholders in Indian cricket were not ready to have Sooryavanshi waiting in the wings. The argument is simple. “How do you get him to bring drinks? The whole argument of ‘he’ll learn’ seems so kiddish now. You don’t teach him by bringing towels and drinks. You throw him into the deep end to swim when he’s riding high on confidence,” explained a well-placed source.Someone has to make a way, and the options are Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishanand Samson. While the southpaw managed to stay between the runs, consistency was never Samson’s friend. Whether it sends the right message to the team and players is a different discussion, but this move is only aimed at giving Sooryavanshi the rope he has earned, even if it comes at the cost of snapping it for others. Prabhsimran Singh’s maiden international call sent another message. Even if Kishan, Sharma, or Sooryavanshi have setbacks or inconsistent outings, Prabhsimran is ready to take his chance, and it could be a tough road back for the experienced Samson. While he was not the only player missing from the squad that played in England, he was the only one format player who was absent. Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel also missed the cut. Initially, there were proposals to send a second part of Zimbabwe, under a new captain, but it did not translate into anything meaningful.
Will Gambhir and Co. travel to Zimbabwe?
There have been rumblings that regular support staff may skip the trip to Zimbabwe. While TimesofIndia.com could not confirm, the discussions took place as the turnaround time between the ODIs against England and the Zimbabwe series was short. It remains to be seen if the Gambhir-led support staff will board the flight or if the Indian cricket board will send coaches from the CoE panel.
Changes to: Asian Games squad:
India announced their squad for the Asian Games last month, but TimesofIndia.com can confirm there have been some last-minute changes. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is likely to approach the relevant authorities with the request, if it has not already done so. The rules allow them to do so, and exceptions can be made to accommodate a player who is not part of the initial long list.India squad for 2026 Asian Games. Shreyas Iyer (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma (VC), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep So Singh, Vaibhav