India T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill missed the 5th T20I of the IND vs SA series, and Sanju Samson finally got his chance in the team. This is the first time Samson has returned to the opening position in India’s T20I side after nine months.
The South Africa tour of India 2025 comes to its concluding match on Friday in Ahmedabad, where the fifth and last T20I of the series is being hosted at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Heading into the 5th T20I, the hosts lead the series 2-1 after the fourth T20I in Lucknow was abandoned due to excessive fog. India cannot lose this series, which would make it their 15th consecutive unbeaten T20I series, a streak that began in August 2023, way before Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir were made the captain and coach respectively.
Coming to the team news in Ahmedabad, Suryakumar confirmed at the toss that Gill will miss the 5th T20I due to an injury.
IND vs SA: Why Shubman Gill Is Not Playing In 5th T20I In Ahmedabad?
The BCCI revealed that Shubman Gill sustained an injury to his right foot while batting in the nets on Tuesday, December 16th, ahead of the fourth T20I in Lucknow, and has been ruled out of the 5th T20I in Ahmedabad.
Samson replaced Gill in the side and will open for India in a T20I for the first time since February this year. This also confirms the rumor that Samson would have played in Lucknow had the match happened.
The BCCI tweeted, “Shubman Gill sustained an impact injury to his right foot while batting in the nets on 16th December in Lucknow. After consulting a specialist and getting treatment with the BCCI medical team, he is improving but will be unavailable for selection for the final T20I in Ahmedabad.”
Samson was pushed down in the middle order when Gill returned to the T20I side in the Asia Cup. Although he batted well during the Asia Cup in the middle order, including playing a crucial knock in the final, India dropped Samson from the playing XI during the T20I series in Australia, with Jitesh Sharma replacing him in the side as the keeper-finisher.
Now, with Gill injured and also performing unconvincingly, Samson has got a chance to showcase his ability once again as an opener in the shortest format. Although that seems very harsh to expect him to deliver straightaway, and not to forget his three centuries last year that helped him cement his place in the team.
India also have Jasprit Bumrah back after he missed the third T20I due to personal reasons. With Bumrah replacing Harshit Rana, India included all-rounder Washington Sundar for Kuldeep Yadav to add batting depth till No. 8.
Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to bowl first in Ahmedabad.
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