Punjab’s Prabhsimran Singh earns maiden India T20 call-up for Zimbabwe series

Punjab wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh has received his maiden call-up to the Indian senior men’s cricket team for the three-match T20 International series against Zimbabwe later this month, while wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson has been left out of the squad.

The national selectors, headed by Ajit Agarkar, announced the squad on Monday, rewarding Prabhsimran for his consistent performances in domestic cricket. Fast bowlers Yash Thakur and Ashok Sharma have also earned their first senior India call-ups, while pacer Mayank Yadav has returned to the national side for the first time since 2024.

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India will play the three T20Is against Zimbabwe in Harare on July 23, 25 and 27. The squad will be led by Shreyas Iyer, with Tilak Varma named vice-captain.

Samson’s exclusion is being linked to his recent run of poor form. The Kerala batter struggled in three successive T20Is, including two matches against Ireland and the opening game of the ongoing series against England in Durham. He was replaced by young batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the second T20I against England before being omitted from the Zimbabwe-bound squad.

Alongside the Zimbabwe squad, the selectors also announced a change to India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against England. Injured all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy has been replaced by Shivam Dube.

The T20 squad for the Zimbabwe series comprises Shreyas Iyer (captain), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Varun Chakaravarthy, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav and Prabhsimran Singh.

For the England ODI series, Shubman Gill will captain a squad featuring Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar and Shivam Dube.