Why is Shardul Thakur not playing today’s IND vs AUS 3rd ODI in Rajkot?

Shardul Thakur is not part of the Indian squad for the third and final ODI against Australia at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday, September 27.

Thakur was part of the playing XI in both of India's wins in the series so far. He donned the role of the third seamer and the seam-bowling all-rounder in the absence of Hardik Pandya. However, he could not claim a single wicket across both matches while conceding 113 runs in 14 overs of bowling.

The team management decided to award a short break to Shardul Thakur and Shubman Gill. As a result, the duo did not travel with the team to Rajkot from Indore, where they sealed the series with a 99-run win via the DLS method.

Thakur will now report directly ahead of the 2023 ODI World Cup warm-up matches. Team India are scheduled to play against England and the Netherlands on September 30 and October 3, respectively.

Coming back to today's game, Australia have won the toss and have opted to bat first, with Pat Cummins returning to lead the side. Along expected lines, Team India have included the returning players in their playing XI for the dead rubber.

Skipper Rohit Sharma said during the toss:

"We would have chased as well. It looks a great wicket to bat. Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, myself are back. Ashwin is not playing today and Washington Sundar comes in his place. Ishan Kishan is unwell, so he misses out too."

India have already claimed an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

Team India battling a personnel with several players being unavailable

While the Men in Blue have been bolstered by the return of the senior duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, they do not have much to choose from in terms of personnel.

Apart from Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur, all-rounders Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya and pacer Mohammed Shami are also unavailable.

Axar is currently recovering from a quadriceps injury and is in a race against time to recover in time for the upcoming World Cup. On the other hand, Shami and Hardik asked to be released from the squad due to personal reasons.

Will Team India complete a historic whitewash against Australia to end their World Cup preparations on a high? Let us know what you think.