Vice-captain Shubman Gill landed in Bhubaneswar on Saturday night as he looks forward to making his much-anticipated return for the 5-match T20I series against South Africa. The 26-year-old was sidelined from the ODIs after suffering a neck injury during the first Test match against the Proteas in Kolkata, which cut short his participation in the remainder of the Test series as well.
On Saturday night, he landed Gill arrived in Bhubaneswar “totally recovered” from the neck injury. A video has gone viral on social media where he can be seen in the team bus, sitting next to his childhood friend and teammate, Abhishek Sharma.
Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma Bonding 🤝 pic.twitter.com/WxOZ6PKNdy
— GURMEET GILL (@GURmeetG9) December 7, 2025
Vice Captain
Shubman Gill has arrived in Bhubaneswar, Odisha ahead of T20 series against South Africa 🤍!!#ShubmanGill pic.twitter.com/1cEsHmuAmu
— Shubman 🤍 (@_77Foreverr_) December 7, 2025
Gill is back to full fitness after a brief stint at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where he spent a couple of days batting, fielding, and completing the final checks with the board’s medical team. His readiness for international cricket was confirmed by head coach Gautam Gambhir, who stated after the third ODI in Visakhapatnam that Gill had been cleared to play.
“Yes, Shubman is ready to start. That’s why he has been selected. He is fit, fine, and hungry to go,” Gambhir said.
Most members of the Indian and South African squads reached Bhubaneswar on Sunday morning, travelling from Visakhapatnam on a chartered flight. Gill, who was not part of the ODI squad, arrived later in the day. The teams will now shift focus to the upcoming match in Cuttack, where preparations have already begun.
Local reports indicated that Hardik Pandya was one of the earliest to get down to business. The all-rounder visited Barabati Stadium on Sunday evening for a closed-door training session, making him one of the first players to hit the ground running ahead of the game.
