Vice-captain Shubman Gill, who has been recovering from a neck injury sustained in the first Test at Eden Gardens, has been named in a 15-member T20I squad against South Africa, but his participation will depend on his fitness clearance from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
Hardik Pandya also makes a comeback after an injury layoff kept him out of action for over two months.
However, there is no place for Rinku Singh, who hit the winning runs in the Asia Cup final and didn’t get to bat in any match in Australia. Rinku has been in good form in the ongoing domestic season.
If Gill doesn’t regain fitness, Sanju Samson could open with Abhishek Sharma. In Australia, Samson batted at No. 3 in the only chance he got, the second T20I in Melbourne.
Gill has been undergoing rehabilitation at the CoE and is understood to have impressed the coaches with his progress. His chances of featuring in the side from the first T20I match in Cuttack are bright and will link up with the squad in Bhubaneswar.
Jasprit Bumrah will lead the fast-bowling attack along with Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.
The five matches will be played on December 9, 11, 14, 17 and 19 in Cuttack, New Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Lucknow and Ahmedabad, respectively.