Why is Rohit Sharma not playing today’s fourth T20I between New Zealand and India?

Why is Rohit Sharma not playing today’s fourth T20I: The Indian vice-captain has been left out from the Playing XI for the fourth match.

During the fourth T20I of the ongoing India’s tour of New Zealand in Wellington, New Zealand captain Tim Southee won the toss and invited India to field first.

Coming on the back of three consecutive losses, the Kiwis would be looking to register their first victory of the series. However, doing the same in regular captain Kane Williamson’s absence won’t be a mean task for them.

Apart from a forced change, the hosts have also replaced all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme with Daryl Mitchell. Batsman Tom Bruce has been included for Williamson.

New Zealand have won the toss and they will bowl first.#NZvIND pic.twitter.com/IXbSLmsQ1Q

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 31, 2020

Why is Rohit Sharma not playing today’s fourth T20I

As far as the visitors are concerned, they have made three changes to their squad after gaining an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Apart from Sharma, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and fast bowler Mohammed Shami have also been rested for this match.

A surprising selection will see reserve wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson open the innings with Lokesh Rahul. Like-for-like replacements for the other two players, Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini will take the field at the Westpac stadium today.

“We would have probably bowled first as well. This side [square boundary] is pretty short. Looks like a good track as Tim [Southee] mentioned, should stay good throughout but the only factor you could consider is wind. It’s a matter of coming out and executing our plans.

“We spoke in the team meeting about how good a game [third T20I] that was. We haven’t had a game like that in a while. Either we’ve had easy victories or quite one-sided losses. For us as a side, it was a massive confidence booster. The team is playing so amazingly well,” India captain Virat Kohli was quoted as saying during the toss.

It is worth mentioning that Kohli didn’t give any particular reason behind Sharma’s exclusion. With India already winning the series, the change has been to give a chance to Samson who has been traveling with the team for quite sometime now.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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