Sanju Samson Gautam Gambhir. Image Credits: AFP
Sanju Samson has been excluded from Team India squad for the upcoming three-match T20I tour of Zimbabwe. The dashing wicketkeeper-batter scored just six runs in his three innings of India’s ongoing European tour of Ireland and England, thus maintaining a dismal average of two.
Not long ago, Samson masterminded India’s historic 2026 T20 World Cup win and enjoyed a prolific IPL 2026 season for the CSK franchise. Even though the cricketer is not in the best of form at the moment, several reports indicate that he has been ‘rested’ from the Zimbabwe tour, along with fellow star performer Arshdeep Singh.
Here, we take a look at when will Samson play his next international match for Team India.
Sanju Samson in India squad for post-Zimbabwe series
It appears that getting excluded from India’s tour of Zimbabwe is not the end of the road for Sanju Samson, not by a long shot. The belligerent top-order batter is already placed in India squad for the 2026 Asian Games, set to be played roughly a month-and-a-half after the series in Zimbabwe.
The BCCI named a 15-player India squad for the 2026 Asian Games in Japan last month, where Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma will continue to serve as captain and vice-captain of the national side.
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Samson is named as one of the two specialist wicketkeeper-batters in the side alongside fellow top-order star Ishan Kishan.
Regardless of getting dropped, or rested, from the tour of Zimbabwe, Sanju Samson is all set to represent India at the 2026 Asian Games in Nisshin, Japan between September 17 and October 3 later this year.
Here is a look at India’s entire squad for the Asian T20 event, where Team India will start out as defending champions for winning the 2023 Gold medal in Hangzhou, China.
India's Asian Games Squad: Shreyas Iyer (c), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Jasprit Bumrah.
India name squad for Zimbabwe tour
On July 6, the BCCI named a strong 15-player India squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. Sanju Samson and Arshdeep Singh were among the senior cricketers ‘rested’ for the tour, with the likes of Rinku Singh making his return to the national side.
Yash Thakur and Ashok Sharma received their maiden international call-ups, while bowling all-rounder Harsh Dubey is a potential T20I debutant. Here is a look at the entire India squad for the upcoming three-match T20I tour of Zimbabwe.
India squad for Zimbabwe T20I series: Shreyas Iyer (c), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Varun Chakaravarathy, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav and Prabhsimran Singh (wk).
India’s schedule for 2026 Asian Games
Much like the 2023 Asian Games, Team India will start out in the Quarterfinal stage of the 2026 event in Japan this September.
As per the schedule, India’s match is set to played at the Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin on September 28. A win will help them advance into the semifinals.
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