India T20I Squad For South Africa T20I Series Announced; Suryakumar Yadav Is Captain, Shubman Gill Is In But Subject To Fitness Clearance

India Squad for South Africa T20 Series 2025: BCCI just dropped India’s 15-man T20 squad for the five-game home series against South Africa, starting December 9, 2025. Suryakumar Yadav leads as captain, with Shubman Gill as his deputy assuming Gill clears his fitness test after rehab.

The mix is interesting. You get heavyweights like Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya alongside newcomers like Varun Chakaravarthy and Tilak Varma. 

Fans are already buzzing, questioning things like choosing Gill over Ruturaj Gaikwad and whether Sanju Samson should open.

This series really shakes up India’s T20 look after Rohit Sharma’s retirement. It’s a big deal, giving the team a chance to gel before the 2026 T20 World Cup, especially in a packed season with games in Cuttack, Chandigarh, Dharamsala, Lucknow, and Ahmedabad.

India Squad for South Africa T20 Series 2025

INDIA T20 SQUAD: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC)*, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar

Shubman Gill made it back to the squad as vice-captain after a neck injury kept him out of the current ODI series. He got hurt during the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata, had to sit out the second one in Guwahati, plus the whole ODI series. 

A BCCI source says Gill has recovered and is back as vice-captain, but only if he stays fit.

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli at 37 and Rohit Sharma at 38 are now sticking to ODIs for India. Everyone’s wondering if they can keep going till the 2027 World Cup.

ALSO READ: IND VS SA 2nd ODI: Virat Kohli Smashes 53rd ODI Century, Stadium Erupts With Chants, Internet Loses Calm