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Rested or dropped? Sanju Samson's exclusion sparks selection debate
07 Jul 2026

Star opener Sanju Samson's absence from the Indian squad for the upcoming T20I series against Zimbabwe has sparked a fresh selection debate.

Samson, the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Player of the Tournament, was excluded from the 15-member squad announced on Monday, with no official word on him.

According to a BCCI source, the decision was made to give younger players a chance, and not because of any poor performance by Samson.

'Samson a senior player'
Future commitments

As per news agency PTI, the source emphasized that Samson is a senior player and part of the 2026 Asian Games squad. Hence, he was rested for the Zimbabwe series to give younger players an opportunity.

The source also questioned why there was no point in including a player who wouldn't play, considering his seniority.

This explanation comes amid criticism from some quarters over Samson's exclusion from the squad.

How Samson redeemed himself 
Performance review

Samson has been under the scanner for his inconsistency. He had a poor outing in the New Zealand series earlier this year, scoring just 46 runs in five matches.

However, he redeemed himself during India's T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with stellar performances in the knockout stages. He scored 97*, 89, and 89 runs respectively and was named Player of the Tournament.

His IPL 2026 season was also impressive - 477 runs in 14 matches (SR: 165.62).

Opportunity for other players
Recent form

Samson's recent performances have been a mixed bag.

He scored 5 and 0 against Ireland, and 1 against England in the first T20I before being replaced by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the second match.

Notably, Samson plays only one format for Team India.

His exclusion has now opened doors for other players like Rinku Singh to make their mark.

Samson's T20I strike rate
Fact

According to ESPNcricinfo, Samson's strike rate of 155.42 is the third-highest for an Indian batter with over 1,400 runs in T20Is. He is only behind Abhishek Sharma (192.83) and Suryakumar Yadav (162.94).