Shubman Gill has been named in the 15-member Indian cricket team for the 2025 T20 series against South Africa, which the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Wednesday.
Suryakumar Yadav will continue as captain of the side, while Gill, who is India’s red-ball and ODI skipper, will return as vice-captain after recovering from a neck injury he had sustained during the opening Test against the Proteas in Kolkata.
The injury ruled Gill out of the second Test in Guwahati and the ongoing ODI series that followed.
Gill’s availability, however, is subject to a clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
Another high-profile name returning to the fold will be Hardik Pandya. The star all-rounder has been sidelined since the Asia Cup triumph in September, as he missed the Australia tour due to a quadricep injury.
He was also left out of India’s Test and ODI squads to facilitate his recovery, but recently returned to competitive cricket as he turned up for Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Punjab on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Hardik scored a quickfire unbeaten half-century in the match whilst picking up one wicket to guide his team to a win.
Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh will lead India’s pace bowling attack, while world No. 1 T20I bowler Varun Chakravarthy will spearhead the spin battery.
The five-match IND vs SA T20 series will run from December 9 to 19, 2025. The action opens in Cuttack on December 9 before shifting to New Chandigarh for the second game on December 11.
The teams then head to the picturesque Dharamsala for the third T20I on December 14. Lucknow hosts the penultimate clash on December 17, and the series wraps up with the final encounter in Ahmedabad on December 19.
India lost the Test series 2-0 but lead the ongoing ODI series 1-0. The second match is ongoing.
South Africa have already named their 16-member squad for the T20I series against India. Aiden Markram has been appointed as the captain.
India squad for South Africa T20 2025
Indian cricket team: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain)*, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar.
