India's Test Captain Shubman Gill likley to miss the T20I series against South Africa which is scheduled to start right after the ODI series in Cuttack. Gill, who suffered injury blow against South Africa in the first Test in Kolkata even missed the ODI series. The BCCI Medical team doesn't want to rush his comeback to the International cricket and hence taking time for proper rehab. For the ODI series, Yashasvi Jaiswal replaced Shubman Gill as opener.
Who will open along side Abhishek Sharma in absence of Gill?
With T20 World Cup 2026 around the corner, it will be interesting to see who will take Gill's spot for the series. Will Sanju Samson get to open again alongside Abhishek Sharma or Jaiswal will be back in the T20I setup - it will be interesting to see.
In the bilateral series so far, the South Africa team dominated the Test series, winning 2-0 while India team bounced back in the ODI series, winning the first ODI in Ranchi. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on song, it will be interesting to see whether the duo will play the Vijay Hazare Trophy later this month.
Can Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma play Vijay Hazare?
Delhi will be playing their last group stage on January 8 which is three days before the start of New Zealand series so it is unclear how many matches Virat Kohli will be available but it is highly likely that he is set to feature in atleast two matches, if not more.
Vijay Hazare Trophy Matches Kohli Can Play?
January 3 – Delhi vs Services
January 6 – Delhi vs Railways
Vijay Hazare Trophy Matches Rohit Can Play?
January 3 – Mumbai vs Maharashtra
January 6 – Mumbai vs Himachal Pradesh
Delhi is placed in Group D, alongside Andhra, Gujarat, Saurashtra, Odisha, Services, Railways, and Haryana. Delhi will be playing five of their matches in Alur and a few of them in Chinnaswamy Stadium. The last time Virat Kohli played in Vijay Hazare was back in 2009/10. Kohli has been in great form in the ongoing One Day series and recently scored his 52nd ODI century.
Mumbai are grouped with Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Sikkim. Rohit Sharma is also expected to play a few games before the series against New Zealand.
