The T20I series will begin on December 9.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the T20I series against South Africa during the mid-innings break of the IND vs SA 2nd ODI. The T20I series will kick off on December 9 in Cuttack. However, the squad has a couple of notable omissions, especially keeping the T20 World Cup 2026 in mind.
In recent times, the squad selection, playing XIs, and the batting order combinations have made little sense to fans and cricket pundits alike. Let’s take a look at 3 takeaways from the India T20I squad.
Gautam Gambhir & Co. keep pushing an extra batter who can bowl. Riyan Parag looks the right man for the job. The 24-year-old offers a bit of wiggle room in the batting lineup. He can bowl a couple of overs of off-break or leg-break, depending on the requirements. However, the Assam all-rounder continues to be sidelined. He last played a T20I in October 2024 against Bangladesh in Hyderabad. Overall, he has played nine 20-over games for India, striking at 150+ and taking a handful of wickets. While he hasn’t been in the best of form in recent times, it’s not justified to not give him ample chances like other players who were chosen solely based on their IPL form.
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Before the Asia Cup 2025 began, Rinku Singh made a wish. He wanted to hit the winning runs for India. Whilst he sat out for the entire tournament, he was picked up in the final and fulfilled his manifestation. He was a part of the Australia tour as well. And rightly so, the 28-year-old would be shocked to not find his name in the list. Rinku can rain boundaries lower down the order, while bowling a couple of off-break overs. Being a left-handed batter, he offers more variation in the batting line-up. The Uttar Pradesh all-rounder recently struck a 42-ball 65 against Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025.
The Role of Shivam Dube looked bleak and confusing during the Asia Cup 2025. India’s batting order witnessed multiple shuffles throughout the course of the series. He was sent to bat anywhere between No.3 and the lower middle-order, and it didn’t really work in his favour. Fifty runs and five wickets in six games isn’t impressive for a player like Dube. While Suryakumar Yadav & Co. won the campaign, they weren’t performing like invincibles, especially the 32-year-old all-rounder. With left-handed batting and medium pace bowling, Dube undoubtedly offers a unique balance. But with Hardik Pandya returning after his injury in the Asian tournament, all eyes would be on Dube as to how he cements his spot for the World Cup.
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, and Washington Sundar.
Note: *Subject to fitness clearance from BCCI COE.
India hold a 1-0 lead in the ODI series, and the series final will take place on December 6. After the five-match T20I series against South Africa, India will host New Zealand for the same number of fixtures in the white-ball series. Both series are in preparation for the T20 World Cup in February 2026.
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