Shubman Gill Set to Return for T20I Series Against South Africa
Gautam Gambhir Confirms Shubman Gill's Readiness
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], December 7: Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir has announced that T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill is prepared to play in the first T20I against South Africa, scheduled for December 9.
Gill, who faced a neck injury during the first Test of the recent two-match series in Kolkata, has been included in the squad after missing the second Test and three ODIs due to his injury.
During a post-match press conference, Gambhir stated, "Shubman is ready to start. That is why he has been selected. He is fit, eager, and ready to go."
Returning to the T20I team as vice-captain this year after a busy schedule of Test and ODI matches, Gill has struggled to convert his impressive form into T20I runs, accumulating only 259 runs in 12 innings at an average of 28.77 and a strike rate exceeding 143, with a top score of 47. He has been dismissed for less than 20 runs on six occasions.
Suryakumar Yadav will captain the Indian team, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who missed the recent T20I series in Australia, is back in the squad. This will mark Pandya's first international T20I appearance since India's Super Four match against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2025 last September. He was absent from the Asia Cup final against Pakistan, which India won, and the Australia white-ball tour due to injury.
Rinku Singh, who was part of the squad for the T20Is against Australia, has been excluded from the upcoming series against South Africa.
A press release from the BCCI regarding the squad mentioned that Gill needed to receive fitness clearance from the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (COE) to participate in the five-match T20I series against the Proteas at home. However, Gambhir has now clarified his inclusion in the squad.
The first T20I of the five-match series against South Africa will take place on December 9 in Cuttack. The second T20I will be held in Mullanpur on December 11, followed by the third in Dharamsala on December 14, the fourth in Lucknow on December 17, and the final match in Ahmedabad on December 19.
Previously, South Africa achieved a 2-0 victory over Team India in the two-match Test series, while India won the ODI series 2-1.
India's squad for the T20I series against South Africa includes: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, and Washington Sundar.