India, Dec. 6 -- India received a significant boost ahead of the upcoming T20I series against South Africa as star opener and T20I vice-captain Shubman Gill has been officially cleared to play after completing an intensive rehabilitation program at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE). The clearance marks the end of a brief injury setback that had kept him out of action since the Kolkata Test.

Gill had been included in the T20I squad on a conditional basis, pending a final assessment of his fitness. After suffering a whiplash injury on the second day of the Kolkata Test-which required hospital observation and an injection for pain management-Gill missed the ongoing ODI series. His availability for the T20Is had become a point of concern f...