India vs Zimbabwe playing 11: Here's why Sanju Samson replaces Rinku Singh
Sanju Samson is playing only his second game in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 after making an appearance against Namibia
In a must-win game against Zimbabwe, India made two changes to their playing 11, bringing in Sanju Samson for Rinku Singh and Axar Patel for Washington Sundar at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday.
Sanju Samson, who earlier made one appearance against Namibia in place of Abhishek Sharma, is playing only his second match in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Why is Rinku Singh not playing vs Zimbabwe?
Rinku Singh, who has played all the matches for the Men in Blue in the ongoing T20 World Cup, left the Indian camp on Tuesday to tend to his sick father, who has been suffering from liver cancer for the past one year. Rinku went to be with his father after his health condition deteriorated, according to media reports.
India batting coach Sudhanshu Kotak on Wednesday said that Rinku would be joining the squad ahead of Thursday’s game.
However, the southpaw was unable to join as India were forced to make a change to their playing 11. Whether Rinku will be available for India’s Sunday game against West Indies is still not confirmed.
India calls in vice-captain
Apart from Rinku Singh, India also named T20I vice-captain Axar Patel as a replacement for Washington Sundar. This comes as a strategic change, as Axar has looked a more complete player with both bat and ball in recent times.
India to bat first
Defending champions India, in their must-win game in Chennai, were invited to bat first by Zimbabwe, who won the toss. A win for India will make their next game against West Indies on Sunday a virtual quarter-final. However, if they lose the game vs Zimbabwe, they will have one leg out of the tournament.
India’s playing 11 vs Zimbabwe: Sanju Samson (w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Zimbabwe playing 11 vs India: Tadiwanashe Marumani (w), Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (c), Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Tinotenda Maposa, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava