Sanju Samson has been left out of India's playing XI, but that hasn't augured well for the Men in Blue. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who replaced him, has not
been able to do justice to his talent so far.
Despite winning the Player of the Tournament award in the T20 World Cup earlier this year and helping India successfully defend the title, Samson got just three chances before he was benched. He aggregated scores of 5, 0, and 1 in the two matches in Ireland and the series opener in England before being replaced by Sooryavanshi. Things went from bad to worse for the wicketkeeper-batter as he was snubbed from India's squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, with Prabhsimran Singh taking his place.
While reports suggest that he has been rested and not dropped, fans believe that it will be difficult for him to make a comeback if the players he is getting replaced by start doing well.
In a recent appearance on his YouTube show, legendary off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin decided to address the much-debated omission of Samson from India's T20I squad for the tour of Zimbabwe by turning into an actor. He took part in a mock roleplay where journalist Vimal Kumar played a selector, and Ashwin played a desperate Samson, who refused to take rest. This video has got fans on the internet in stitches.
Vimal (as selector): "You have done exceptionally well, we are so proud of you. But, you also know when we started."
Ashwin (as Sanju): "I don't want any rest. If I want, I will bring my mother, father and wife along with me to Zimbabwe. I want to play there. I have never been to Bulawayo. They are a proud cricketing nation. I saw in 1999, Zimbabwe beat India in the World Cup. I want to take revenge for that. Please take me there, I don't want to rest."
Ravichandran Ashwin as Sanju Samson, Vimal Kumar as the chief selector... and the conversation went exactly how you'd imagine 😂 pic.twitter.com/2CoQKpWqEO
— Wickets Hitting (@offpacedelivery) July 8, 2026
India are currently 0-2 down in the five-match T20I series against England. With two games left to play, India can only level the series. However, with the kind of underwhelming cricket they have played so far in the United Kingdom, a turnaround is going to be very difficult.
