Shubman Singh Gill

Former India cricketer R Ashwin believes the plan was already set whether Samson had played a good knock in Ahmedabad in the 5th and final T20I against South Africa or not.

T20 World Cup 2026: After dominating the SMAT, Rinku Singh and Ishan Kishan rejoined the Indian team.

Samson, a 31-year-old T20I opener, has remarkable stats. With a striking strike percentage of 178.02 and 559 runs in 18 innings, including three hundreds, he averages nearly 33 in this role.

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav too hinted at the necessity of combination as the reason behind Gill’s omission.

The squad was announced after a meeting with India's selectors, former stars Pragyan Ojha and RP Singh, and captain Suryakumar Yadav at the BCCI HQ in Mumbai.

T20 World Cup is the only tournament that matters and the pressure will be very different compared to a bilateral series. And that’s where the batting form assumes importance.

The management seems to be sticking with Gill as the opener, a move that would mean he continues to have a place at the World Cup next year rather than Samson.

It is learnt that Gill has sustained the injury during training session and all precautionary measures are being taken to ensure his speedy recovery.

Ashish Nehra has watched Shubman Gill from close quarters as the Gujarat Titans head coach for the past two seasons.

Shubman Gill's poor form comes as a major concern in the run-up to the T20 World Cup 2026.

Gill took Sanju Samson's spot in the starting lineup for this series, a move that has generated criticism for weeks. Samson, who finished 2024 with three hundreds and a strike rate of 180, was also playing well in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2025.

India's Test and ODI captain had injured his neck while playing a sweep shot in the first Test against South Africa last month.

Suryakumar Yadav addressed the big question of why Shubman Gill replaced Sanju Samson as an opener in the shortest format of the side.

Sourav Ganguly cited the example of India's last tour to England where Shubman Gill led a rather inexperienced unit to a 2-2 draw in the five-match Test series.

Shubman Gill had suffered a whiplash on the second day of the Kolkata Test and had to be hospitalised for a couple days and administered injection.

India squad for South Africa T20Is announced: The series gets underway from December 9 in Cuttack and will conclude on December 19 in Ahmedabad.

With the match-winning ton in Ranchi, Virat Kohli took over Shubman Gill's position in the ICC ODI batters rankings list.

IND vs SA: Shubman Gill got injured during the first Test against Temba Bavuma-led South Africa in Kolkata. He was ruled out of the second Test and the ODI series that followed.

With the T20 world cup just two months away, Surya and Gautam will have the two series against South Africa and New Zealand to finalise plans.

There is some good news for Indian fans as Hardik Pandya has got the clearance to return to the T20 format.