Why is Hardik not playing today: Team India have made three changes to their playing 11 for the 3rd T20I in Indore.
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India and South Africa are up against each other in the 3rd T20I of the 3-match series. The Indian team won an important toss in Indore, and they opted to bowl first. Rohit said that it is a high-scoring ground, and the pitch will be a good one in both innings of the match.
“We’re going to field first. It’s a very high-scoring ground, I feel the pitch won’t change a lot so nice to know what target is in front of us. We want to keep challenging ourselves, keep improving and keep batting the same way,” Rohit Sharma said at the toss on Star Sports Network.
South African captain Temba Bavuma said that he would have bowled first as well, but he is not fussed about losing the toss. He said that the team wants to reach their objectives ahead of the World Cup in Australia.
Why is Hardik not playing today
Rohit Sharma confirmed at the toss that the Indian team has made three changes to their playing eleven. Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Arshdeep Singh have been replaced by Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav. South Africa on the other hand have made a solitary change where Dwaine Pretorious came in for Anrich Nortje.
The readers must note that there are no injury issues with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. Both of them are rested ahead of the T20 World Cup as the Indian team doesn’t want to take any kind of risks ahead of the mega event ahead in Australia. Virat and Rahul will play a big role in the tournament for the Indian side.
However, Rohit said that Arshdeep Singh felt some issues with his back, and that’s why he has been rested as a precaution. With Jasprit Bumrah already out with a back injury, the team does not want to take any kind of risk with Arshdeep.
Shreyas Iyer will bat in the middle order, and it will be interesting to see the opening partner of Rohit Sharma in this match. With the arrival of Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav, the Indian team is playing with a batter less. R Ashwin should bat at the number seven slot, the same role that he played with the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022.
Hardik Pandya was rested for the T20I series along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Both of them are at the NCA for their conditioning.
