(Image source from: AP)

Shubman Gill has been appointed as the vice-captain for India's next five-match T20I series against South Africa, which starts on December 9. Nonetheless, Gill can only play if he gets the go-ahead from the medical team of the BCCI. Suryakumar Yadav will captain the squad of 15 players, which includes well-known players like Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah. Gill has been sidelined since the first Test match against South Africa in Kolkata last month. He sustained a neck injury, which led to him missing the second Test in Guwahati and the following ODI series. The all-rounder Hardik, who has regained his fitness, is also part of the team as he has just made a comeback to playing competitively. The 30-year-old had been inactive after he hurt his left quadricep in a match against Sri Lanka during the Asia Cup Super Fours in Dubai on September 26.

Hardik spent time recovering at the BCCI Center of Excellence in Bengaluru. He made a strong comeback to competitive games after two months, scoring an unbeaten 77 that helped Baroda achieve a seven-wicket victory over Punjab in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Tuesday. The five-match series kicks off on December 9 in Cuttack. The other matches will take place in Mullanpur (December 11), Dharamsala (December 14), Lucknow (December 17), and Ahmedabad (December 19). Most of the T20I team remains the same as the group that went to Australia for India's last T20I series. However, Rinki Singh has been dropped from the squad since he didn't get many opportunities on the last tour.

India squad for T20I Series: 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.