IND vs SA 4th T20I: Pressure building on Suryakumar Yadav as Team India eye series win

Suryakumar Yadav (Pic: File Pic)

Ahead of the fourth T20I match against South Africa, Shubman Gill's poor run has been the talking point, but skipper Suryaumar Yadav's performances are also under scrutiny.

During the third T20I, the Indian skipper had the opportunity to make it count, but his intent, which once made him the top-ranked batsman in the world, was missing. Shots that defined his dominance have been producing erratic results, and the match in Dharamsala was no different, as he fell to his trademark pick-up stroke, highlighting a continued struggle.

Speaking about his performances, the skipper said that he is not out of form, but definitely out of runs.

"The thing is, I've been batting beautifully in the nets. I'm trying everything that's in my control. When the runs have to come, they'll definitely come. I'm not out of form, but definitely out of runs," he said at the post-match presentation ceremony after Team India's win in Dharamsala.

With the T20 World Cup 2026 just two months away, the "Men in Blue" would want their skipper and premier batsman to find himself among the runs.

Shubman Gill's form in the T20 Internationals (T20Is)

Gill replaced a well-settled Sanju Samson. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batter was first pushed down the order and eventually dropped despite forming a promising partnership with Abhishek Sharma earlier.

Gill has shown his class in other formats, but in T20Is, he is yet to come across the assured batter that he is in Tests and ODIs. While he survived during Sunday's low-target chase, his scratchy run-a-ball 28 did little to ease concerns with seven matches to go before the global showpiece.

The fourth T20I match between Team India and South Africa is scheduled to be played on December 17 at the Ekana Cricket Stadium B Ground in Lucknow.

IND vs SA 4th T20I: Full Squads

India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma, Shahbaz Ahmed, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Ottniel Baartman, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde.

(With PTI Inputs)