Fans were left fuming after India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill failed with the bat against the South Africa national cricket team.
Both Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav failed miserably against the Proteas in the second T20I of the five-match series at the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.
Shubman Gill was out for zero, Suryakumar Yadav scored 5 runs.
Despite getting full support from the BCCI selection committee and head coach Gautam Gambhir, Gill has not been able to establish himself in T20 cricket.
Since returning to the T20 squad for the Asia Cup, Shubman has consistently recorded low scores and has faced heavy criticism.
During a massive run-chase in the second T20I against the Proteas, Gill became the victim of a golden duck in the very first over. Lungi Ngidi bowled a pitch to Gill, whose edge went straight to Reeza Hendricks.
After Gill’s dismissal, hopes were pinned on captain Suryakumar Yadav that he would get India out of trouble, but he also failed to score a big score.
On the fifth ball of the fourth over, Marco Jensen bowled a length ball to Suryakumar Yadav, which went straight into the gloves of keeper Quinton de Kock. He went back towards the hut after scoring 5 runs.
Overall, Shubman Gill averages 23 from 14 innings with no half-centuries since his return to the T20I setup. Also, in his last 18 T20I innings, he has registered scores of 0, 4, 29*, 46, 15, 5, 37*, 12, 4, 29, 47, 5, 10, 20*, 39, 34, 13, 58*.
Meanwhile, the Indian captain has been a complete flop in the T20Is in 2025, as in 17 innings he has scored 201 runs at an average of 14.35 and a strike rate of 126.41.
Also read: Jitesh Sharma runs out like MS Dhoni to deny Quinton de Kock a century in the second T20I
Here’s how fans reacted to Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav’s flop show:
Gautam Gambhir’s extreme hypocrisy
Shubman Gill in 2025 T20I:
15 innings • 263 runs • Average 17 • 0 half-centuriesBut Gambhir was dropped #sanjusamson Out of the team after one failure, but even after consecutive flop performances he is playing Gill.#INDvSA #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/DBwC7lRq0q
-Kuldeep Singh (@Kuldeep0745) 11 December 2025
Shubman Gill is out for a duck again, he is a prime A+ grade player pic.twitter.com/y6woYVIwHj
– Akshay Sharma (@akshayshar30) 11 December 2025
Shubman Gill got fooled again, man when will this favoritism end??????? pic.twitter.com/gNMJG4GGST
– Chicken Rajput (@VickeyWorld_) 11 December 2025
Shubman Gill aka Nibby’s crush…player of all formats…India’s greatest ever batsman…Gambhir’s darling…Sarah’s darling along with another duck. #INDvsSA #shubhmangil pic.twitter.com/yx7BnCUVfR
– Priyansh Thakur (@iPriyanshThakur) 11 December 2025
Golden duck for vice-captain Shubman Gill… once again! Brother, when will this discrimination stop? Drop him from T20 already! enough is enough. pic.twitter.com/ToiWOoJkwv
– Pankaj (@downloadedx8) 11 December 2025
General Knowledge (Mandatory Tweet):-
Ruturaj Gaikwad >>>Shubman Gill pic.twitter.com/yXtHYV46v8
– ShuhidAufridi (@ShuhidAufridi) 11 December 2025
We lost our diamond in search of gold.
I would choose Sanju Samson over Shubman Gill any day. pic.twitter.com/stv3aW2lX2
– Dhruv Thakur (@Dhruv_Thakur___) 11 December 2025
We truly have the biggest T20 league in the world. There is no dearth of talent and he and Surya still have to be seen batting in T20Is. Can’t even leave because BCCI has given the gift of leadership role to both of them. https://t.co/d6o5y6wOMq
– cool friend (@rohancric947) 11 December 2025
Remove both Captain and VC
both are useless @surya_14kumar @shubmangil
embarrassing performance #INDvsSA #INDvSA #GautamGambhir #shubhmangil #SuryaKumarYadav https://t.co/kNCtnmopiH– Firdaus Sheikh (@firdaus_sheik) 11 December 2025
Surya bhai drop yourself from T20 match#INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/iCsyzJLSMO
– Sapna Sharma (@Sapna_cricket) 11 December 2025
Surya once again flopped,
It’s time to replace Surya and make Hardik the captain, it’s not too late #INDvsSA– Rai (@Avishekakhi123) 11 December 2025
You can’t run your wagon properly without a captain’s run – Aakash Chopra
Speaking on his official YouTube channel before the match, Aakash Chopra said that if Suryakumar and Gill have to lead India properly then they need to score well.
He said, “Suryakumar Yadav needs to score runs because ultimately runs are needed. Without runs from a captain, you cannot run your car properly. When Suryakumar Yadav has played for India, he has not scored runs for a long time. It is not that he has been seen playing very badly.”
Chopra said, “In the last match also he played the flick for sixes and in Australia also he hit sixes, but a big innings is required. Then the wagon comes on the track. It does not matter whether you win the toss or not because this team does not lose, but it is important for Suryakumar Yadav to score runs.”
“Shubman Gill comes from Chandigarh, and he needs to score runs. He has a monkey on his back. He needs to dislodge that monkey. A big question is why Shubman Gill is needed. There are many options available for the opening slot, and that is why the pressure is real.”
