India’s XI For 3rd ODI: Rohit Sharma Springs Big Surprise, Makes 3 Changes, Yet No Rishabh Pant

With India 2-0 up, as many as three players found a spot each in India’s playing XI for the third and final ODI against England. Yet, wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant found no place in the team for the dead rubber. Pant, who was added to India’s squad not just for the ODI series against England but also for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy. After India won the first two matches, changes were expected to be made with the team. While India skipper Rohit Sharma did announce multiple swaps in the playing XI, KL Rahul continued to be persisted for the role behind the stumps as Pant warmed the bench.

It was England skipper Jos Buttler who won the toss and opted to field first. Rohit, however, confirmed that he wanted to bat first anyway. Hence, both captains got what they wanted.

“I wanted to bat first and put runs on the board because we bowled first in the last two games. It was important for us to get a win in the last game. The fielders portrayed themselves well in the last two games, a lot of young blood. We want to continue to do well in the field. They are pretty new in their careers so we want to keep the pressure away from them, let them do their own and they have got a lot of potential.

Rohit announced that Shami and Jadeja were rested for the match but Varun couldn’t participate due to a sore calf issue. Hence, India had to make three changes.

“We have made some changes – Jadeja and Shami have been rested, unfortunately, Varun has a sore calf. So, Washi, Kuldeep, and Arshdeep come into the side,” Rohit said at the time of toss,” said the skipper.

“We are gonna bowl first today. (On whether the expected dew has influenced his decision to bowl first) A little bit maybe, it may spin a bit later. We have batted first in the first two games so it will be a different experience today ahead of the Champions Trophy. It’s a decent wicket, we played New Zealand in the World Cup a few years ago, it was a black soil pitch and it played better in the second half. We have one change – Tom Banton comes in for Jamie Overton into the side,” the England skipper said after the toss. 

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh

England Playing XI: Philip Salt(w), Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(c), Tom Banton, Liam Livingstone, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood