Left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh, and seamers Yash Thakur and Ashok Sharma have earned their maiden India T20I call-ups for the three-match series against Zimbabwe, beginning on 23 July at the Harare Sports Club. The squad continues to be captained by Shreyas Iyer, with Tilak Varma serving as vice-captain.

Who Returns and Who Misses Out

Rinku Singh and Mayank Yadav have also made their way back into India's T20I setup. The six inclusions come at the expense of Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Ravi Bishnoi, and Sanju Samson, all of whom are part of India's ongoing five-match T20I tour of England. Samson's omission from the Zimbabwe squad is therefore a function of his England commitments rather than a form-based exclusion.

The Debutants: What They Bring

Dubey, who represents Vidarbha, made his ODI debut against Afghanistan at Dharamshala in June, claiming 3 for 47. He was also part of India A's 1-0 red-ball series win in Sri Lanka, where he picked four wickets and contributed scores of 30 and 29 with the bat.

Fellow Vidarbha pacer Yash Thakur claimed five scalps in India A's 50-over tri-series victory in Sri Lanka and matched that tally in the subsequent red-ball series — a consistent run that made his case difficult to ignore.

Ashok Sharma came into national reckoning after a standout domestic season. He was the leading wicket-taker in the 2025/26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, snaring 22 wickets in 10 games, and followed that up with six wickets for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026. He featured in the India A tri-series in Sri Lanka as a replacement for the injured Yudhvir Singh Charak, picking up 1 for 75 in his lone appearance.

Prabhsimran Singh arrives on the back of a strong IPL cycle, amassing 510 runs in 14 games for Punjab Kings in IPL 2026. He then carried that form into the India A 50-over tri-series in Sri Lanka, contributing scores of 84 among his outings.

Series Schedule and Venue

All three T20Is will be played at the Harare Sports Club. After the series opener on 23 July, the sides meet again on 25 July and 26 July. India last toured Zimbabwe in July 2024, winning that series 4-1.

Full Squad

India squad: Shreyas Iyer (Captain), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma (Vice-Captain), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shivam Dube, Suryansh Shedge, Rinku Singh, Harsh Dubey, Varun Chakaravarathy, Prince Yadav, Yash Thakur, Ashok Sharma, Mayank Yadav, and Prabhsimran Singh (WK).

The Zimbabwe series offers the selectors a low-pressure window to assess fringe talent ahead of a packed international calendar — and four debutants suggest they intend to use it fully.