The fifth and final match between India and South Africa in their T20 international series is currently underway at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, but the Indian team has made an important replacement at the top. India's vice-captain in T20Is, Shubman Gill is not playing today, which is an important talking point before the fifth match. Gill, who has been one of India’s key batter in this series, suffered a niggle while engaging in a practice session at Lucknow. Though he traveled to Ahmedabad with the team, he was advised to not play any part in the last match due to injury concerns, as the T20 World Cup is fast approaching. Samson Comes in as Gill Misses Out In the absence of Gill, Sanju Samson replaces him in the playing XI of team India. With squad announcement for T20 World Cup 2026 being just a sleep away, it will be a great opportunity for the wicketkeeper batter to display his talent as a top-order batter. Samson had skipped all matches in the series, yet he can be a great replacement option because of his talent and temperament. They still have a good opening combination in Abhishek Sharma partnering Samson, followed by a solid in-form middle order in Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Shivam Dube. Also Read | When Will India’s T20 World Cup 2026 Squad Be Announced? Here's the Date South Africa Win the Toss and Choose to Field Prior to the commencement of play, South Africa's captain won the toss and decided to field. The away team hopes to take advantage of the evening dew settling in the Ahmedabad ground, which makes chasing targets much easier. India, on the other hand, would look to score a large total even in the absence of Gill. The Indians have remained positive throughout the series, and the inclusion of Samson has further strengthened their batting line-up. India's Playing XI for the 5th T20 International Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh With this T20I being the last of the series, South Africa will aim to level the series 2-2, while the Men in Blue will look to secure the series 3-1.