A day before the start of the T20I series against South Africa, India head coach Gautam Gambhir reportedly delivered a strong message to his players, emphasising a "perform or perish" approach rather than allowing anyone to play on past reputation, sources told myKhel.
With the 2026 T20 World Cup scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka early next year, the Indian coach has made it abundantly clear that players' performances will be the primary factor behind their selection in the national squad for the 20-team mega tournament.
Automatic Selection - A Thing of the Past
Addressing the full squad in Cuttack ahead of the first of five T20I series, Gambhir is believed to have reminded the players that the bench strength and depth in Indian T20 cricket is exceptional, and therefore no one
can take their place in the XI for granted. He stressed that selection and continuity will depend solely on performance, making it clear that the era of automatic selection based on name value is over.
Gambhir, who has come under intense criticism in recent months for allegedly mismanaging senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, is now actively pushing the case for several young cricketers and investing significant patience in their development. While he has been vocal about building the next generation and has consistently backed emerging talent, he is yet to establish a clear stamp of authority or visible results with the juniors he has been advocating for.
Many believe that Gambhir's challenge lies in balancing the transition phase - managing strong senior personalities while simultaneously grooming fresh faces - and the pressure is mounting for him to demonstrate tangible progress in shaping the future core of the team.
Team India will be playing a total of mininum 10 T20Is, five each against South Africa and New Zealand, early next year, ahead of the showpiece event starting, February 7. The selectors, as well as coach Gambhir, will be closely monitoring the performances of the players in the squad, and even those participating in the ongoing domestic Syed Mushtaq Ali T20.
India's T20I Squad Vs South Africa 2025:
- Captain: Suryakumar Yadav
- Vice-Captain: Shubman Gill
- Batters: Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma
- Wicketkeepers: Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma
- All-Rounders: Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar
- Pacers: Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana
- Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
- Series Schedule (Dec 9 - Dec 19, 2025)
