India to take on SA today in T20, Gill and Hardik back in squad

India will face South Africa in the first T20I of the five-match series on Tuesday, December 9 , at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium , with a major boost to their lineup as Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya make their comebacks.

Gill

, returning from a neck injury, has been named vice-captain and cleared fitness tests, slotting back into the top order. “I feel fully recovered and ready to fire from ball one,” he said. Hardik Pandya , who had been out since the Asia Cup due to a long rehabilitation phase following his ankle injury , also rejoins the squad, strengthening India’s batting and bowling balance.

The rest of the team includes Suryakumar Yadav (C) , Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, and Washington Sundar. The Senior Men’s Selection Committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, confirmed the squad ahead of the IDFC First Bank T20I series .

A notable omission from the squad is middle-order batsman Rinku Singh, who, despite impressive performances in limited chances, has been left out. In many combinations, when Hardik plays, his all-round abilities free up a bowling slot, a scenario where Arshdeep Singh can often be benched to accommodate an extra batter like Rinku . Despite this flexibility, the selectors have chosen to retain Arshdeep and exclude Rinku, making the decision even more surprising given Rinku’s recent form.

The series will be played across five venues, New Chandigarh (Dec 11), Dharamsala (Dec 14), Lucknow (Dec 17), and Ahmedabad (Dec 19), after the opener in Cuttack. While this South African squad is relatively inexperienced, it still carries serious firepower, especially in the lower order. Bowlers like Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch , who bat down the order, are known for their explosive hitting in T20s and can change games in a handful of balls. Fans will be watching closely to see if the returning duo of Gill and Pandya can give India early momentum against a young yet dangerous South African side.