What are the changes India have made to their T20I squad for the South Africa series?

India will be captained by Suryakumar Yadav in the T20Is against South Africa.

The Indian Cricket Team squad for the T20I series against the South Africa Cricket Team was revealed on Wednesday, December 3. The two teams are all set to lock horns with each other in the five-match T20I series from December 9 in Cuttack.

Suryakumar Yadav will lead India in the T20I series against South Africa, while his deputy Shubman Gill will be making a comeback in the series after a neck injury. He is yet to receive a clearance certificate from COE and only after that will he be allowed to play. 

Hardik Pandya will also be making his comeback after a two-month injury hiatus. As the Indian squad for the series was announced, the Indian team’s jersey for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 was also unveiled and the series marks the road to the tournament, which will be played in February-March next year.

What are the changes India have made to their T20I squad for the South Africa series?

The Indian squad for the South Africa series is pretty similar to what it was in Australia, barring a few changes. A few key players have been dropped and in their place, while season campaigners have been added to the side.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was part of the team for the Australia series, has been dropped and has been replaced by Hardik Pandya. This was always on the cards as Reddy had stepped in for Pandya, who was ruled out of the Australia tour. 

Another major change was Rinku Singh getting dropped from the team, having been a consistent member of the T20I side. His exclusion came as a surprise as he was part of the playing XI in the last game that India played in the T20I.

Additionally, Kuldeep Yadav has been added to the team. The wrist spinner missed the last two T20Is against Australia as he was released from the squad to prepare for the tests against South Africa.

India squad for the T20I series against South Africa

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

Note: * Subject to fitness clearance from BCCI COE.

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