IND vs AUS 3rd ODI: Team India's star batter Shubman Gill and all-rounder Shardul Thakur have been rested for INDIA vs AUSTRALIA third and final ODI, scheduled to be played in Rajkot's Saurashtra Cricket Association on Wednesday (September 27). As per exclusively reported by The Indian Express, the team management decided to rest both these players, keeping in mind the workload management. As per the report, Shubman and Shardul won't travel to Rajkot, venue of IND vs AUS 3rd ODI, but will instead join the Indian camp in Guwahati, where the Men in Blue will square off against defending champions England in their first warm-up match on Saturday (September 30).
While Shubman and Shardul earn an off for IND vs AUS final ODI against Australia, India faces a major injury setback. As per reported by Cricbuzz, all-rounder Axar Patel is yet to fully recover from the injury, his left quadriceps strain, which he suffered during the Asia Cup 2023 and has been ruled out of India vs Australia 3rd ODI in Rajkot. The injury could also rule out Axar from the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023 tournament.
If this happens, India, in all likelihood, will include R Ashwin in India's ODI World Cup 2023 squad. As per ICC guidelines, all the teams participating in ODI World Cup 2023 have to submit their final WC squads on September 28 and the final ODI (IND vs AUS 3rd ODI) will be played a day earlier.
Axar is reportedly currently undergoing rehabilitation at Bengaluru's National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.
India beat Australia in IND vs AUS 2nd ODI, win three-match series 2-0
The second ODI match in Indore between India and Australia was interrupted by rain twice. The second stoppage occurred when Australia had reached 56 for two in nine overs. Following the rain delays, the revised target for Australia was set at 317 runs in 33 overs. However, they struggled to keep pace with the required run rate and eventually concluded their innings at 217 all out in 28.2 overs, with India securing a resounding victory.