Shubman Gill’s T20I struggles continued on Thursday as he was dismissed for his first-ever golden duck in international cricket, raising fresh concerns ahead of the T20 World Cup. The dismissal came in the opening over of India’s innings in the second T20I against South Africa in New Chandigarh.
Chasing a daunting 214, Gill was out on the fifth ball of the first over, facing Lungi Ngidi. The right-arm pacer delivered a good-length ball on off stump that hit the deck and shaped away. Gill, caught in the crease, pushed at it and edged it thickly to wicketkeeper Reeza Hendricks, who dived to his right to complete the catch, a dismissal reminiscent of a Test match.
This marked Gill’s first golden duck in international cricket, where he has played 133 matches across formats. In T20 cricket overall, it was his third such dismissal, with the previous two coming in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The first was in 2021 against Chennai Super Kings at Wankhede, and the second a year later at Pune, also against CSK.
Gill, who had a stellar debut series as Test captain against England with 754 runs, has struggled to replicate that form in T20Is. His commanding Test performances, achieved amid captaincy responsibility and following the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, convinced selectors to build a bigger plan around the 25-year-old. He was brought back into the T20I fold for the Asia Cup and reinstated as vice-captain, with speculation swirling that he could eventually succeed as full-time captain post-T20 World Cup 2026.
Primarily an opener, Gill was placed ahead of the settled Sanju Samson, who had scored three international centuries the previous season. However, in 14 T20Is this year, Gill managed only 263 runs from 183 balls at a strike rate of 143-plus, hitting just four sixes, two in the powerplay.
By contrast, his best friend and opening partner Abhishek Sharma has flourished, scoring 773 runs from 397 balls in 18 matches in 2025 at a strike rate of 188.5, including 48 sixes, nearly three per match on average.
With only eight matches left before the World Cup, which begins on February 7, Gill has limited opportunities to convince head coach Gautam Gambhir that the strategy of building around him was the right call. It remains to be seen what steps India will take if Gill fails to impress in the remaining three matches of the South Africa series.
