India T20I Squad vs South Africa: Hardik Returns, Gill Doubtful for Series
BCCI to announce India T20I squad for South Africa series. Hardik Pandya returns, Shubman Gill doubtful, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag in contention.
image for illustrative purpose
The men's T20I squad for the forthcoming five-match series against South Africa is to be declared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The contest will be played in five different places commencing on December 9 in Cuttack and continuing through Mullanpur, Dharamsala, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad, with the final match occurring on December 19.
Sidelined Shubman Gill, who got the neck injury on November 15, is still a major doubt. It is reported that in case of precautionary resting of Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal might be called as the replacement.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya is anticipated to return to the team after missing the Asia Cup 2025 final and the subsequent five-match tour of Australia. Pandya demonstrated his fitness with a not out 77 against Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Tuesday in Hyderabad.
Another possible returning player is Riyan Parag from Assam who has had inconsistent performances in the SMAT 2025, but his selection would provide more strength to the middle order. Meanwhile, the vice-captaincy position is being re-evaluated for Gill's absence, and the choices are Axar Patel or Pandya.
It seems that Suryakumar Yadav will be the captain of India's probable squad, accompanied by Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma as wicketkeeper options. Jasprit Bumrah is likely to lead the bowling attack, and he will be supported by Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy. The trio of Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, and Shivam Dube rounds up the all-rounder choices.
On the flip side, South Africa's team has brought back Anrich Nortje, who was absent for more than a year because of injuries. The team led by Aiden Markram comprises Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, and other influential players.
By the time the second ODI will be held on Wednesday, the city of Raipur will be pretty much ready as fans are already looking forward to the performances of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Sharma is very close to the 20,000 mark of international runs, as he just needs 41 more to be a member of an elite group of Indian batters. The weather in Raipur is also going to be good and 28°C will be the temperature along with no rain.
Reportedly, BCCI's selection talks under the chairmanship of Ajit Agarkar are taking place in a few areas: Shubman Gill's condition, possible substitutes, the return of Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, vice-captaincy, and the inclusion of Rishabh Pant. Pant has not played any T20Is this year but he might return depending on the balance of the team.
The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy also provided the panel with some knowledge. Leading the batting charts are Ayush Mhatre and Ishan Kishan, while Ashok Sharma is the leading wicket-taker. These performances are likely to play a part in the final squad selection before the important series against South Africa.
T20I Series Schedule (India vs South Africa 2025)
1st T20I: December 9, Cuttack, 7:00 PM IST
2nd T20I: December 11, Mullanpur, 7:00 PM IST
3rd T20I: December 14, Dharamsala, 7:00 PM IST
4th T20I: December 17, Lucknow, 7:00 PM IST
5th T20I: December 19, Ahmedabad, 7:00 PM IST
