Follow UsIndia are facing a major headache ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup, with both captain Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill stuck in a prolonged slump. Their struggles continued in the first T20I against South Africa in Cuttack on December 9 (Tuesday), where both top-order batters failed once again.
Returning from a neck injury, Gill began with a streaky boundary off a thick edge but failed to build on it. Trying to take on Lungi Ngidi on a sluggish surface, he stepped out to loft over mid-off, only for the ball to grip and bounce, resulting in a simple catch at mid-off.
SKY’s lean patch in T20Is also stretched further. Walking in at No. 3, the Indian captain began with five dots against Marco Jansen before briefly finding rhythm with a four and a six off Ngidi. But just when it seemed he was settling in, he miscued another good-length ball that stopped on him, gifting mid-on a straightforward catch.
With the T20 World Cup closing in, SKY’s form has become a major concern. In 18 T20Is this year, he has scored only 196 runs at 15.07, the third-lowest average for a captain in a calendar year (at least 150 runs). He hasn’t recorded a single fifty in 2025.
Lowest average for a T20I captain in a calendar year (Min. 150 runs)
11.64 – Mohammad Nabi, 2022
14.00 – Shahid Afridi, 2010
15.07 – Suryakumar Yadav, 2025
15.56 – Aiden Markram, 2024
(Full-member teams only)
Gill’s numbers aren’t comforting either. Since returning to the T20I setup during the Asia Cup, he has 263 runs in 13 innings at 26.30, with zero 50+ scores, despite replacing Sanju Samson, who smashed three T20I hundreds in 2024. Across 34 T20Is, Gill now averages under 30.
While SKY remains virtually undroppable as captain and due to his past exploits, Gill’s spot is far less secure. With multiple contenders waiting in the wings, time could be running out for India’s ODI and Test captain in the shortest format.