IND vs ZIM: Who will replace Rinku Singh in India's XI for Super 8 clash of T20 World Cup 2026?
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Rinku Singh scored a duck in India’s Super 8 clash against South Africa last Sunday.
Indian batter Rinku Singh, as per the reports in ESPNCricinfo, will be unavailable for team’s next Super 8 match of T20 World Cup 2026 against Zimbabwe on February 26 in Chennai. The batter has reportedly flown home due to a family emergency and also missed practice session under lights at the Chepauk stadium.
Rinku has had scores of 6, 1, 11* and 6* in the group-stage matches and scored a duck in India’s 76-run loss to South Africa in their first Super 8 match. The Men in Blue have two more games remaining in the Super 8 stage, both of whom are must-win games.
Sanju Samson to replace Rinku Singh in IND vs ZIM clash
With Rinku set to miss the clash, this leaves a void in the XI and now the question remains who will replace him? But the reports in The Week have claimed that Sanju Samson will replace Rinku Singh in the XI against Zimbabwe on Thursday. Samson might eventually open the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma with Ishan Kishan likely to be bat at three.
Some sections of the reports have also claimed that Suryakumar Yadav is likely to bat at number three, which also hints at the possibility of Tilak Varma getting dropped due to his poor form as well. So far in the tournament, Tilak has played all five games, scoring just 107 runs at number three at a poor strike rate.
With India finding themselves in unfamiliar territory in the remaining games, they are likely to change their sequence of left-handers in their XI by bringing back Samson. The keeper-batter had long sessions in the nets, where he was seen hitting some big hits and working on his defence as well.
Samson took on the pacers during India’s near-centre-wicket training. Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh were seen bowling at him. He took on Varun Chakravarthy and hit him for a few lusty blows when he batted at the B nets at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Axar Patel in mix to be back for IND vs ZIM clash
Samson played the league match against Namibia, where he scored 22 off just 8 balls with three big sixes. With India’s openers struggling, the management would ideally hope for a big knock from the right-hander. The new Chennai Super Kings batter played all the matches against New Zealand in the five-match T20I series before the T20 World Cup started.
Along with Samson, Axar Patel, who missed the last two games for India in the tournament, might also return to the playing XI as per reports. Axar was dropped for Washington Sundar in the match against South Africa.
India’s net run-rate (NRR) is -3.800 after the massive loss to South Africa and they will need to win their next two games by big margins to get themselves into the semi-finals. They will also need South Africa to win all their remaining games in the Super 8s. India’s last Super 8 match is against the West Indies next Sunday and they will know the exact equation for their semi-final qualification.
When is India’s next match in the Super 8 stage of T20 World Cup 2026?
India takes on Zimbabwe on February 26, 2026 in their next Super 8 match in the T20 World Cup 2026.
Why Rinku Singh might not play the IND vs ZIM match?
Rinku Singh might not play the match due to a family emergency.
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Anshuman Roy is a senior cricket journalist with nearly a decade of experience covering the game. His love for cricket began in childhood, playing at school and college level before turning that passion into a profession. Over the years, he has written for several reputed media houses and specialises in news, features, previews, reviews, match reports, and opinion pieces.