India, Dec. 3 -- India have fired the first shot of their T20 World Cup title defence by naming a 15-member squad for the five-match T20I series against South Africa, starting December 9 in Cuttack. With a home World Cup to defend in February-March 2026 across India and Sri Lanka, this is not just another bilateral assignment - it's the first clear sketch of how India want their champions to evolve before the circus begins.

The selectors, meeting in Raipur on Wednesday evening, expectedly stuck with Suryakumar Yadav as captain. However, it was the return of Shubman Gill as the vice-captain that was one of the major talking points of the squad.

The T20Is in Cuttack, Mullanpur, Dharamsala, Lucknow and Ahmedabad will now act as India's fin...