Why is Rishabh Pant not playing today’s 3rd T20I between India and West Indies in Kolkata?

Rishabh Pant not playing today: India have made as many as four changes to their Playing XI for the third T20I.

During the third T20I of the ongoing West Indies’ tour of India in Kolkata, West Indies captain Kieron Pollard has won the toss and chose to field. Yet to win a match on this tour, the visitors would be keen to turn the tables tonight.

“We are going to bowl first. Nothing much has changed in these last two games, the ball comes onto the bat nicely. When we look at the two games that we lost, we have batted well but we faltered during our fielding and bowling at the death. It is also an opportunity for the guys to have a taste of the conditions and see what they can offer,” Pollard told Star Sports at the toss.

In an urgent need of winning this match to not return home empty-handed, West Indies have made four changes to their Playing XI by bringing in batter Shai Hope, all-rounders Fabian Allen and Dominic Drakes and spinner Hayden Walsh for batter Brandon King, all-rounder Odean Smith, spinner Akeal Hosein and fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell.

Why is Rishabh Pant not playing vs West Indies?

Much like West Indies, India have also made as many as four changes to their Playing XI. While batter Virat Kohli and wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant have left the bio-bubble after having already been rested, pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and spinner Yuzvendra Chahal have also also been rested.

In return, the home team has brought batters Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shreyas Iyer, all-rounder Shardul Thakur and debutant pacer Avesh Khan into the Playing XI.

“Feels good to bat first given that we did well in the last game. There is a lot of cricket ahead of us and the challenge for the World Cup would be to make sure we are mentally and physically fresh. We have an eye on that but at the moment everything looks fine and we are just taking it one game at a time,” Sharma told Star Sports at the toss.