Why is Mohammad Shami not playing today’s IND vs ENG 2025 3rd ODI?

Team India pacer Mohammed Shami has been rested for the third and final match of the ODI series against England, currently being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Shami made a comeback to international cricket recently during the T20I series against England last month. He was on the sidelines for more than a year before that after sustaining an injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup.

He underwent surgery, completed rehabilitation at the NCA, and then played a few domestic matches before turning up for the T20I series in January. Shami then played the first two ODIs against England in Nagpur and Cuttack and picked up two wickets after bowling 15.5 overs. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, he will lead the Indian pace attack at the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

The team management decided to give a break to Mohammed Shami for the dead rubber on Wednesday, February 12, to keep him fresh for the upcoming multi-national tournament. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh replaced him in the playing XI and will feature for the first time this series.

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"Jadeja and Shami have been rested"- Team India captain Rohit Sharma on team combination for 3rd ODI vs England 2025

Speaking after losing the toss ahead of the third ODI, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said:

"I would have batted first, we have chased in the last couple of games. Enjoyed it (on his knock in the last game), got to spend some time in the middle. It was important for me as well as the team but it was more important to win it for the team. A lot of the young guys set themselves goals in the fielding and we portrayed ourselves well in the last couple of games."

He added:

"These guys are new to the game and we want to keep the pressure away from them. We have made some changes. Jadeja and Shami have been rested. Varun did not pull up well unfortunately, he has got a sore calf. Kuldeep, Washi and Arshdeep come in."

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

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