Shubman Gill has made a comeback to the Indian T20 side for the upcoming five-match series against South Africa as vice-captain after recovering from a neck injury that kept him out of the ongoing ODI series.
However, his participation is subject to fitness clearance from BCCI Centre Of Excellence (COE).
Hardik Pandya, who has been out of international action since the semifinals at the Asia Cup, has also been included in the 15-member squad.
One of the major omissions is that of Rishabh Pant, who was overlooked despite regaining his fitness after long injury layoff.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has kept their faith in Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma while Nitish Kumar Reddy has been excluded with Hardik making a return.
The pace attack will be led by Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh with Harshit Rana donning the role of the third pacer.
If Hardik is fit and ready to bowl his full quota, he will be playing as the second pacer in Indian conditions, allowing the team management to consider an additional all-rounder in Shivam Dube.
The series begins in Cuttack on December 9 - three days after the conclusion of the ongoing ODI series.
The remaining four matches are scheduled to be held in New Chandigarh (December 11), Dharamsala (December 14), Lucknow (December 17), and Ahmedabad (December 19).
India squad for T20I series vs SA:
Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Shubman Gill (Vice-Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (Wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar.
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