Cricket
India gear up for the 1st T20I against South Africa in Cuttack, with Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill returning to the XI as India look to bounce back after the Test series setback
The first T20I will be played at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack on Tuesday. India enter the match with six consecutive T20 series wins since their 2024 World Cup triumph
Sanju Samson is expected to take up wicketkeeping duties, with the team likely backing him in the middle order despite pressure from Jitesh Sharma
Shubman Gill returns to partner childhood friend Abhishek Sharma at the top, a combination that has delivered consistently high-scoring starts since 2024
Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vc), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Harshit Rana/Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy
Despite India’s dominance, South Africa will aim to take the early lead and exploit any early-season combinations India are still fine-tuning