India are back in Zimbabwe. The two sides last shared a cricket field at the 2026 T20 World Cup Super Eight stage in Chennai, where a young Brian Bennett smashed an unbeaten 97 and still ended up on the losing side. Now it’s a proper bilateral assignment: three T20Is in Harare, sandwiched between India’s tour of England and a packed home season that starts later this year. Shreyas Iyer leads a squad that looks nothing like the one that just finished up in England, and that’s really the story of this series. Zimbabwe get a fresh look at India’s second string. India get a low-pressure venue to answer a few selection questions before the bigger assignments start piling up.
IND vs ZIM 2026 Schedule & Squads
A few things stand out here. Sanju Samson, the Player of the Tournament at this year’s T20 World Cup, has been left out entirely, not just rested. So have Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana, all regulars in England. Harshit Rana and Varun Chakaravarthy are recovering from injuries and are ruled out.
Meanwhile, three uncapped players get their first senior call-up: wicketkeeper-batter Prabhsimran Singh (rewarded for three straight 500-plus run IPL seasons), and pacers Yash Thakur and Ashok Sharma, both of whom impressed heavily in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Mayank Yadav is back after a long injury layoff, and Rinku Singh returns to the T20I fold after missing the England tour.
India tour of Zimbabwe
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IND vs ZIM T20I Stats
India vs Zimbabwe T20I Head-to-Head
Team India and Zimbabwe have met 14 times in T20Is. India have won 11, Zimbabwe 3. Good margin on paper. But look closer and the three Zimbabwe wins aren’t random: a 2-run defence in Harare in 2016, a 10-run win days after India had thumped them by 10 wickets in that same series, and a 13-run win to open the 2024 tour before India steamrolled the remaining four games.
Their last meeting was the 2026 T20 World Cup Super Eight game in Chennai, a 72-run India win that still gets remembered for Brian Bennett’s unbeaten 97 more than the scoreline. Zimbabwe’s wins come in bursts. With a fair bit of India’s regular first XI missing this time, that history matters more than the 11-3 record suggests.
| Format | Matches | India win | Zimbabwe win | Draws/Tied/No results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| ODI | 66 | 54 | 10 | 2 |
| T20I | 14 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
India’s Results in Zimbabwe
Across all three formats, India have played 44 completed matches on Zimbabwean soil and won 34 of them. Across all formats and all venues combined, including matches played outside Zimbabwe, India’s overall record against Zimbabwe stands at 72 wins from 91 completed matches, with 15 losses, 2 draws and 2 ties.
India’s most recent bilateral tour of Zimbabwe was the five-match T20I series in July 2024, which they won 4-1 with a squad full of fringe names. That’s basically become the template. Indian selectors treat Zimbabwe tours as an audition room for the next tier of players, not an assignment for the first-choice XI, and the 2026 squad, minus Samson, Siraj, Axar and company, is the clearest version of that yet.
| Format | Matches | India win | Zimbabwe win | Draws/Tied/No results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| ODI | 26 | 22 | 4 | 0 |
| T20I | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
FAQs on IND vs ZIM 2026
When does the IND vs ZIM 2026 series start?
The series begins on July 23, 2026, with the first of three T20Is at the Harare Sports Club.
Where are all the matches being played?
All three T20Is are being held at a single venue, the Harare Sports Club in Harare.
Who is captaining India in the Zimbabwe T20Is?
Shreyas Iyer captains the side, with Tilak Varma as his deputy.
Why is Sanju Samson not part of the squad?
Sanju Samson, despite being named Player of the Tournament at the 2026 T20 World Cup, was dropped mid-series in England and has now been left out of the Zimbabwe squad entirely. While no official reason is provided, it is to do with testing other players and giving them opportunities.
Is this a full tour or T20Is only?
This particular assignment is a three-match T20I series only. There is no Test or ODI leg scheduled as part of this trip.
Where can I watch IND vs ZIM 2026 live?
India vs Zimbabwe T20I series will be broadcast on the newly launched Unite8 Sports channels on TV, and live streaming will be on the FanCode app and website.
