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Shubman Gill of India plays a shot during the 1st T20I match between India and South Africa, held at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, India, on December 9, 2025. (CREIMAS for BCCI)
India vice-captain Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the fifth T20I against South Africa with a foot injury in Ahmedabad on Friday. Gill had sustained the injury during a training session before the fourth T20I in Lucknow, which had been abandoned due to excessive fog. Gill was replaced by Sanju Samson who will slot in as the opener alongside Abhishek Sharma.
“Bumrah comes in for Harshit, Washi comes in for Kuldeep and Gill picked up a niggle in Lucknow, so Sanju comes in,” captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed at the toss. India lost the coin flip with South Africa captain Aiden Markram opting to bowl first.
“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,” the BCCI said in a statement.
𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞: 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…
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 19, 2025
The development comes amid scrutiny over Gill’s place in the Indian T20I squad as an opener ahead of the likes of Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal. The 25-year-old has been India’s first-choice opener along with Abhishek Sharma since he was promoted to vice-captaincy of the squad, shortly after he was made captain of the Indian ODI squad in October.
However, he has struggled to make an impact in the two series that he has played in Australia and the ongoing rubber against South Africa since. Overall Gill has scored just 291 runs in 15 innings this year at a strike rate of 137.26 and average of 24.25. Gill has not made a 50+ score since July 2024 in India colours.
Meanwhile, with India set to announce the squad for the T20 World Cup on Saturday, Gill and skipper Suryakumar Yadav’s indifferent form is a massive concern but the national selection committee is unlikely to make any shocking changes when it picks the 15-member squad.
The BCCI would be at liberty to replace any of the named 15 till the start of the T20 World Cup on February 7. For the record, during the Champions Trophy earlier this year, Varun Chakravarthy replaced Yashasvi Jaiswal after slow tracks in Dubai were taken into consideration.
Having endured a barren run for almost 14 months and across 24 games, Suryakumar’s form will be a talking point for the defending champions. The committee will also pick the T20 squad for New Zealand which will be the same as the one chosen for the T20 World Cup.
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