First, Captain Suryakumar Yadav, and now Player of the Tournament Sanju Samson. Nearly four months after lifting the T20 World Cup, India have chosen to part ways with two major
members of the squad that successfully retained the title at home. While Ajit Agarkar, chairman of the men's senior selection committee, addressed a press conference clarifying the decision regarding SKY, much was left open to speculation and interpretation when Samson was omitted from the Shreyas Iyer-led squad for Zimbabwe.
Not too long ago, Samson was the hero of the nation for his efforts in the decisive stages of the multi-nation tournament but the selectors have remained cautious because of the inconsistency on either side of those performances. The opener only entered the World Cup XI because the left-handed top-order found it difficult against off-spin. He justified the trust, but the familiar trend of inconsistency resurfaced even in the IPL and following international matches. Add to this a red-hot Vaibhav Sooryavanshi making things difficult for the decision-makers. Samson was the coaching group's initial preference and received support in the press conferences, but the other key stakeholders in Indian cricket were not prepared to keep Sooryavanshi waiting in the wings. The reasoning was straightforward: "How can you make him carry drinks? The whole argument of 'he will learn' sounds so childish right now.
You don't make him learn by carrying towels and drinks. You throw him into the deep end to swim when he is riding high on confidence," explains a well-placed source.
Someone had to make way, and the options were Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Samson. While the left-handers have continued to score runs, consistency has never been Samson's strongest quality. Whether this delivers the right message to the team and players is a separate discussion, but this decision was purely aimed at giving Sooryavanshi the opportunity he has earned, even if it comes at the cost of taking it away from someone else.
Prabhsimran Singh's first international call-up sends another signal. Even if Kishan, Sharma, or Sooryavanshi experience failures or inconsistent performances, Prabhsimran is ready to seize his opportunity, and it could well be a difficult road back for the experienced Samson. While he hasn't been the only player absent from the squad travelling to England, he is the only specialist white-ball player left out. Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel have also failed to make the cut. Initially, there were suggestions to send a second-string side to Zimbabwe, under a new captain, but this never developed into anything substantial.

Will Gambhir and Co. travel to Zimbabwe?
There are indications that the regular support staff might skip the Zimbabwe tour. While TimesofIndia.com couldn't verify it, discussions have taken place because the turnaround time between the ODIs against England and the Zimbabwe series is extremely short. It remains to be seen whether the Gambhir-led support staff boards the flight or if the Indian cricket board sends coaches from the CoE panel.

Changes in the Asian Games squad
India announced their squad for the Asian Games last month, but TimesofIndia.com can confirm that there may be a few last-minute alterations. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected 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 granted to even accommodate a player not included in the initial long list. India squad for the 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 Singh, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi