India Predicted Playing XI: Will Sanju Samson replace Shubman Gill in 3rd T20I in Dharamsala?

After losing the previous T20I in Mullanpur, India cannot afford to take risks leading upto the T20 World Cup 2026.

Despite being a juggernaut of a team since winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, fans and pundits haven’t stepped away from criticising India. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side have won everything but still continue to make some baffling decisions that restrict them from making full use of their high potential. Against South Africa in Mullanpur, those decisions backfired as India lost the 1-0 lead in the series and now enter Dharamsala with renewed focus.

The HPCA Stadium in Himachal Pradesh offers a picturesque venue where nature’s beauty elevates the game on the field. The fans at the stadium would be buzzing to witness incredible action. Expect it to be a high-scoring affair once again, with the pitch in Dharamsala offering trustworthy bounce and short boundaries making life difficult for the bowlers.

Sanju Samson to replace Gill?

A five-match series helps a team back an out-of-form player. That is why it is a relieving sign for Shubman Gill, who hasn’t scored many runs since he has returned to the T20I side. Ever since the Asia Cup 2025, India have drafted Gill as an opening partner to Abhishek Sharma. While the two Punjab boys know each other well, they haven’t had success so far, with Gill enduring horrible form.

Despite batting across 14 innings, Gill has managed to score just 263 runs at an average of 23.90. Yes, he is considered a more safe batter but guess what, the lad hasn’t scored a single fifty in 2025. It looks like he is going out of his comfort zone to force things.

With Gill enduring a bad patch, fans have raised their voices in favour of Sanju Samson, who was the card that moved away in order to slot in Gill. In the 2024/25 season, Samson formed a formidable pair with Abhishek and even hammered 3 hundreds in a span of 5 T20Is. But, with Gill’s ascension as vice-captain in T20Is, Samson was moved into the middle-order before getting dropped altogether. Still, he would want Gill to endure a couple more failures in order to have a chance of getting another opportunity. In the third T20I, it seems Samson has to warm the bench once again, since India would like to Gill a longer rope.

Shubman Gill vs Sanju Samson: T20I stats comparison as opener

India Predicted Playing XI for 3rd South Africa T20I

Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

Bench: Sanju Samson (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar