Star opener Abhishek Sharma and Team India will be in action as the five-match T20I series against South Africa gets off. The opening match is scheduled for Tuesday, December 9, at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium.
India defeated South Africa in the ODI series and will carry that momentum into the T20Is. They won the first game by 17 runs, lost the second by four wickets, and then bounced back to claim the third by nine wickets and seal the series. The Men in Blue also enter the contest with confidence after winning their last T20I series against Australia 2-1.
South Africa, meanwhile, lost their previous T20I series 1-2 against Pakistan and will look to deliver a stronger performance in India.
Both teams scored heavily during the ODI leg, and the spotlight will once again fall on the batters to produce big runs.
On that topic, let’s look at three hitters who could wind up leading the scoring charts in this T20I series.
3. Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill is ready to make his return as he regains fitness from a neck injury suffered during the first Test, joining India’s T20I series against South Africa. The setback kept him out of the remaining Tests and the ODIs, but he has now been declared fit for the T20I leg of the tour. Gill is expected to open the innings alongside Abhishek Sharma once again.
The stylish right-hander endured a forgettable tour of Australia and will be determined to make a strong statement at home. Gill’s T20I numbers in India are impressive — 225 runs from seven games at an average of 37.50 and a strike rate of 167.91, including a century. He also enjoyed a prolific IPL 2025 season, scoring 650 runs in 15 matches with six half-centuries at a strike rate above 155.
2. Aiden Markram
South Africa will have Aiden Markram as captain of the T20I series and he will enter the contest with an added confidence following a super showing in the ODI leg. He scored a match winning blow on the second ODI with a century taking his time in a powerful stroke play.
Although his previous record in T20Is in India is not so impressive, totaling only 58 in three matches in 2022, Markram will be encouraged by an impressive season in the IPL 2025. In 13 matches he had counted 445 runs with a strike rate of 148.82 with five half-centuries. The Proteas skipper will have a big role to play with a bat in hand as the form is in his favor.
1. Abhishek Sharma
Abhishek Sharma comes into the series as the No.1 T20I batter in the World, and the player to be followed. He was declared Player of the Series in the recent T20I battle between India and Australia with the 163 runs he scored in five innings with an average of 40.75 and a strike rate of 161.38.
The left-hander has stayed red-hot in the current Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025–26 while representing Punjab. He has piled up 304 runs in six matches with an outstanding average of 50.66, a blistering strike rate of 249.18, and a tally that includes a century and two fifties.
He produced his standout performance against Bengal, smashing a jaw-dropping 148 off just 52 deliveries — an innings loaded with eight fours and 16 sixes at a strike rate of 284.61. India will rely heavily on Abhishek Sharma to extend his explosive form against South Africa.
