After the ongoing Test series against South Africa, India will play a white-ball series. The series will consist of 3 ODIs and 5 T20I matches. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee announced the ODI squad on Sunday, November 23. KL Rahul will lead in Shubman Gill's absence. Ruturaj Gaikwad has returned to the ODI team after a gap of two years. However, the selectors are yet to announce the squad for the T20I series.
Shubman Gill is currently suffering from a neck injury and is unlikely to be fit for the T20I series. Hardik Pandya will return to the field for Baroda in domestic cricket and is likely to find a place in the T20I squad for the South Africa series. Sanju Samson, a member of the 2024 T20 World Cup-winning team, could be overlooked again.
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Let's take a look at India's probable T20 team:
Batsman
Abhishek Sharma will definitely open. Yashasvi Jaiswal is likely to return to the T20I squad in the absence of Shubman Gill. He was dropped earlier due to his absence, as he can also take a few wickets with the debut ball. Now there is a void in the opening and Jaiswal is ready to return. He is one of the fastest batsmen in India.
Sanju Samson can also open, but he is more likely to be dropped. He lost his place in the XI in the Australia series and Jitesh Sharma took his place. Rishabh Pant is going to return, so Samson may be left out.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav will be the captain of the T20 team. Rinku Singh and Tilak Varma will retain their place. Rinku played only one ball in the 2025 Asia Cup and got a chance in another match against Australia, which was washed out due to rain.
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All-rounder
Hardik Pandya has not been included in the ODI squad but he will return to the T20I squad. But before that, he will prove his fitness in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Baroda. Shivam Dube and Axar Patel will retain their places. Axar has been dropped from the ODI squad.
Bowlers
Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the ODI series. However, he will return to T20. Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh will be the other two pacers in the team. Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav will share the spin duties.
India's probable T20 squad (for South Africa series): Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Jitesh Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana.
