South Africa’s tour of India has been quite exciting so far. The Test and ODI series has ended. Team India won the Test guest and ODI series, now it is the turn of T20. This series is going to be very important before the upcoming T20 World Cup, in which India would like to test its preparations and make possible changes in it. Along with the format, timing and squad are also changing, now Kohli-Rohit will not be seen. Know when and where India vs South Africa first T20 will be played. Squad of both the teams and details of live telecast and live streaming of the match.

Rishabh Pant took over the captaincy in the Test after Shubman Gill was injured, although India lost both the matches. In the absence of Gill, KL Rahul was given command in the ODI series. Here the power of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma was seen and India won the series 2-1. Now India is ready for the T20 series under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav. The captaincy of South Africa will be in the hands of Aiden Markram.

On which date will India vs South Africa 1st T20 be held?

The first match of the 5-match T20 series between India and South Africa will be played on Tuesday, 9 December.

At which venue will India vs South Africa 1st T20 be held?

Barabati Stadium Cuttack Odisha.

What time will India vs South Africa 1st T20 start?

The first T20 between India and South Africa will start at 7 pm on Tuesday, December 9. The toss will take place at 6:30.

Indian team

Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Verma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Washington Sundar, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakraborty.

south african team

David Miller, Reza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brewis, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Donovan Ferreira (wk), Quinton de Kock (wk), Tristan Stubbs (wk), Enrique Norkhia, Lungi Ngidi, Lutho Sipamala, Otniel Bartman.

Where to watch live India vs South Africa T20 match

India vs South Africa first T20 will be telecast live on Star Sports Network channels. There will be live streaming on JioHotstar app and website.

BCCI has announced the squad for the 5-match T20 series against South Africa. 15 players have been selected under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill is the vice-captain and Hardik Pandya has returned. Rinku Singh has been dropped, due to which many fans are angry. He is heavily criticizing the selectors on social media.

Rinku Singh plays the role of a finisher, although he has not got consistent opportunities in the playing 11. Even in the Asia Cup, he got a chance to play only the final because Hardik Pandya got injured. This year, Rinku played in 6 T20 International matches, out of which he got a chance to bat in 3. Of course he got less chances, but he made his name in most of the matches. Now after being dropped from the T20 series against South Africa, his fans are very angry with the selectors.

Fans upset due to Rinku Singh’s exit

Citing Rinku Singh’s T20 statistics, a user wrote that he is India’s best finisher in T20, and he was dropped. Another user accused Chief Selector and Head Coach Gautam Gambhir of choosing players of his choice.

Rinku Singh who is India’s best finisher of T20Is in history has got dropped from T20I squad just ahead of T20I WC!

Rinku Singh in T20Is:

Innings – 25,
Runs-550,
Avg – 42.31
Sr – 161.77

Agarkar will be remembered as the worst selector in history!pic.twitter.com/fm8JtigPOa

— Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) December 3, 2025

Ajit Agarkar & Gautam Gambhir are trying their level best to destroy Indian Cricket now, selecting team purely based on likes, dislikes & hatred:

– Rinku Singh with 40+ avg & 160+ sr is dropped from T20Is now,
– Shubman Gill with worse stats is selected over Jaiswal & Gaikwad,
, pic.twitter.com/nikaITIBsF

— Rajiv (@Rajiv1841) December 3, 2025

If there’s one batsman who is ignored across formats every time, it’s Rinku Singh. Man performs in every format but doesn’t even get into IND A squads and gets dropped from T20I squad without even doing anything wrong. https://t.co/sNZXZxLKdv

— arfan (@Im__Arfan) December 3, 2025

Another user wrote that Washington Sundar and Akshar Patel cannot score runs at a fast pace in the last overs, Sanju Samson is also not a finisher.

– Rinku Singh misses another T20 World Cup.
– Last time, he had the best chance and truly deserved it, but missed out.
– Rinku is replaced by Washi Sunder.
– Players like Axar and Washington can’t accelerate effectively in the death overs.
Sanju Samson is not a finisher.
, pic.twitter.com/1a7v3Jh9MG

— Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintiwari952) December 3, 2025

Rinku Singh’s T20 International statistics

Rinku Singh has scored a total of 550 runs in 25 innings of 35 matches. His highest score in this format is 69*, his strike rate is 161.76 and average is 42.30. He has scored 3 half-centuries in T20 International.

India’s T20 squad against South Africa

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill (vice-captain)*, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakraborty, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar.

*Shubman Gill can play only after getting fitness clearance.

India vs South Africa T20 Series 2025 Schedule

• 1st T20: 09 December- Cuttack
• Second T20: 11 December- New Chandigarh
• 3rd T20: 14 December- Dharamshala
• 4th T20: 17 December- Lucknow
• Fifth T20: 19 December- Ahmedabad

Hardik Pandya has completed intensive rehab at BCCI’s Center of Excellence and has been allowed to bowl in T20 Internationals. This is a good news before the T20 series against South Africa, he can join the squad for this series. Hardik was injured in the semi-finals of Asia Cup 2025.

According to a PTI report, all-rounder Hardik Pandya has completed an intensive rehab block at the BCCI’s Center of Excellence (CoE) and has been allowed to bowl in T20Is. Pandya completed his Return to Play (RTP) protocol at the Center of Excellence between October 21 and November 30. Now he has been declared fit to resume competitive cricket in T20.

Hardik Pandya was injured in Asia Cup

Hardik has been out of action since suffering a left quadriceps injury during the Asia Cup in September. For this reason, he was out of the Australia tour and the ongoing ODI series against South Africa. BCCI had already indicated that before the T20 World Cup 2026, he would be managed only for T20 Internationals.

Hardik will play in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Hardik Pandya will first return from the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, so that his workload management can be tested. According to PTI report, Hardik Pandya can play matches for Baroda against Punjab on 2nd December and against Gujarat on 4th December. In this, the focus will be on how his body responds to bowling in two consecutive matches.

National Selection Committee member Pragyan Ojha has been entrusted with the task of monitoring Hardik Pandya’s progress in the domestic tour and giving feedback to the team management and selectors. It is clear from this that the management is considering him as an important player in the T20 World Cup 2026, who makes important contribution in batting, bowling as well as fielding.