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3 min readJul 23, 2026 10:29 AM IST
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was dropped for Sanju Samson in the 5th India vs England T20I in Southampton. (CREIMAS)
After a bruising tour of England where they were swept 4-0 in a five-match T20 series, Shreyas Iyer’s Indian team starts its tour of Zimbabwe with plenty of intrigue over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenager was given three games to play against England where he managed scores of 15, 13 and 14 before he was dropped in favour of Sanju Samson. With Samson not being named in the side for the Zimbabwe tour, Sooryavanshi will be back in the XI, at the top of the batting.
The Zimbabwe tour could be where he makes a strong case for himself after a tour of England where he became the youngest player to represent India in the second T20I in Manchester, but could only manage scores of 15, 13 and 14.
At the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe, Sooryavanshi finds himself in familiar terrain: it was here he smashed 175 from just 80 balls in the final of the Under-19 World Cup as a 14-year-old against England. Hammering 15 sixes and 15 fours at a strike-rate of 218.75, Sooryavanshi had scored the last 151 runs of that knock off just 56 deliveries.
The rest of the team combination will also be an interesting watch. In the absence of regular pacers like Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, a young pace attack will turn out for India with Mayank Yadav earning a comeback to the national setup after a gap of almost two years, while Ashok Sharma and Yash Thakur have been handed maiden call-ups.
Probable Playing XI for India vs Zimbabwe first T20I
India’s Probable XI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (w), Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Harsh Dubey, Mayank Yadav, Prince Yadav and Ravi Bishnoi
Zimbabwe’s Probable XI: Brian Bennett, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani (w)/Tafadzwa Tsiga, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza(c), Ryan Burl, Milton Shumba, Brad Evans, Newman Nyamhuri, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
India vs Zimbabwe squads
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Prabhsimran Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi
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Zimbabwe Squad: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani(w), Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza(c), Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Wessly Madhevere, Milton Shumba, Richard Ngarava, Tanaka Chivanga, Blessing Muzarabani, Ben Curran, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Newman Nyamhuri
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