A toe injury suffered before the fourth T20I is set to keep Gill out of the final T20I here as India would want to take a cautious route, more so when there is a ready replacement for the top order slot in Sanju Samson.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla said that head coach Gautam Gambhir has a firm grip on the team and is popular among the players.
In a rain-marred contest at Canberra, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav lit up the night with a couple of towering sixes - enough to take him into an elite club of T20I power-hitters, becoming only the second Indian after Rohit Sharma to reach 150 sixes in the format.
When players select themselves, the selectors' job becomes delightfully simple. But did the Indian selectors have that luxury while picking the T20 World Cup squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup? asks K R Nayar.
Images from the second T20 International between India and South Africa, at the PCA's New Chandigarh Stadium, Mullanpur.
The controversial decision to select Shubman Gill in place of a well-settled Sanju Samson as the opener has backfired for the Indian team so far.
Gill, who donned the opener's role during India's unbeaten run to the Asia Cup trophy, mustered up 127 runs in seven appearances.
Abhishek Sharma's scintillating 75 was beautifully complemented by Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy as India comfortably hammered Bangladesh by 41 runs to enter the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Wednesday.
Images from the fifth T20 International between India and South Africa, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
Washington Sundar enhanced his reputation as a T20 hitter with India batting in top gear through the innings to comfortably chase down a target of 187 for a series levelling five-wicket win over Australia.
The ladies looked gorgeous at Monisha Advani, her brother Nikkhil Advani and their business partner Madhu G Bhojwani's Diwali party. But the guest list includes this swish set too.
Virat Kohli moved up to No. 4 in the latest ICC rankings with a match-winning hundred against South Africa in the first ODI at Ranchi boosting his ascend.
"When a captain or a coach says something like this, obviously there is a bit of confidence and you've to back yourself up.'
India will look to overcome batting inconsistencies and finish the tour of Australia with authority when the two sides clash in the fifth and final T20 International in Brisbane on Saturday.
As India gear up for the T20 World Cup at home, the selectors have backed a squad built on impact, and versatility.
The Bellerive Oval is one ground where the side boundaries are smaller in size, hence hitting the right lengths would be paramount considering anything short would be flying over cover, point, square leg or mid-wicket on either side of the fence.
Formidable India have their tails up as they head to the gargantuan MCG for the second T20I against Australia here on Friday, thanks to the influx of young talent and the return to form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
While some of them were excellent, most were passable. But many were far superior to the theatrical releases.
'His free-spirited character perfectly matches T20 cricket's essence, it's about freedom and expression.'
Shubman Gill's fate wasn't actually sealed on Saturday when BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia announced the squad for the T20 World Cup but when the fourth T20 International was called off on Wednesday due to thick smog.
Investors encountering underperformance must be patient.
Hardik Pandya made a memorable comeback to the Indian team, smashing a blistering half-century to power India to a thumping 101-run win over South Africa in the first T20 International.
Australia skipper Mitchell Marsh expressed disappointment at the loss but praised India's all-round performance.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, arrived in Delhi on Tuesday and linked up with rest of the Indian team, many of whom were playing in the two-Test series against West Indies.
Mumbai sealed a bonus-point victory with a nine-wicket thrashing of Hyderabad in their Group D Ranji Trophy match, in Hyderabad, on Sunday.
Having retained the majority of their squad, MI will be the team to beat given their formidable batting, but Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals will be out to spoil their party.
Hardik Pandya marked his return to the Indian team from a two-month injury layoff with a match-winning half-century.
India's spinners took six wickets in a stunning fight back to rout Australia by 48 runs in the fourth T20I on the Gold Coast on Thursday.
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
Suryakumar Yadav on Sunday acknowledged the shortage of runs from him but India's T20I skipper did not count it as lack of form, saying that runs will come sooner than later.
Sheetal shines, but recurve concerns linger in Indian Archery 2025
The 34-year-old mystery spinner rewrote the record books during the fifth and final T20I against South Africa at Ahmedabad on Friday, casting a spell of his bamboozling spin magic on the Proteas batters, four of them surrendering to his bowling.
In the chase, India lost Shubman Gill for a golden duck, while Marco Jansen got rid of Abhishek Sharma and India skipper Suryakumar Yadav, before Baartman broke the 35-run stand between Axar Patel and Varma.
"Gill should cement his place at the top order in T20": Irfan Pathan
At just 24, Abhishek Sharma has begun rewriting records that took years for others to set.
The Indian skipper said that the wicket today was much better from a batting point of view.
Rishabh Pant was ruled out for nearly three months after he fractured his foot during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
Sanju Samson boasts of a superb record in T20 Internationals, with 995 runs in 51 matches at a strike rate of 147.40, including three centuries and as many fifties.
Former India seamer Venkatesh Prasad backed Suryakumar Yadav's men to dominate once again against Pakistan on Sunday.
Ishan Kishan's return to the Indian T20 setup is a story of timing, perseverance and a domestic season that selectors simply could not overlook.
