Why R Ashwin not playing today: Why is Hardik Pandya not playing today’s 4th T20I between West Indies and India in Lauderhill?

Why Hardik Pandya not playing today: India have made three changes to their Playing XI for the fourth T20I against West Indies.

During the fourth T20I of India’s tour of West Indies 2022 in Lauderhill, West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran has won the toss and chose to bowl.

“We are going to bowl first. The ground has been covered and there should be some moisture. We’ll look for early wickets. Take the game as deep as possible and then win the key moments. We are playing some good cricket so far, the boys are looking forward to today’s game,” Pooran told ESPN Caribbean at the toss.

In spite of being 1-2 down in a five-match series, the home team has refrained from making any changes to their Playing XI for a must-win encounter.

Here is the Windies playing XI for the 4th T20I against 🇮🇳 #MenInMaroon #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/cJSxuqTYky

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) August 6, 2022

Why is Hardik Pandya not playing today’s match vs West Indies?

Much like Pooran, India captain Rohit Sharma also wanted to bowl first at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium today. Although India winning two and losing one out of their previous four T20Is at this venue, Sharma highlighted uncertainty about the pitch ahead of the match.

“We were also looking to bowl. Not sure how the pitch will play. We will now have to get the runs on the board. I understand where we stand as a team and will be looking to give chances to some of the other guys. We need to make them feel confident, that means we’ll have to give them plenty of games,” Sharma told ESPN Caribbean at the toss.

Unlike West Indies, India have made a total of three changes to their Playing XI. Batter Sanju Samson, all-rounder Axar Patel and spinner Ravi Bishnoi will be playing this match in place of batter Shreyas Iyer, vice-captain Hardik Pandya and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.

With Sharma not being asked about the exact reasons behind making these changes, it’s safe to presume that all the three changes are regular rotational changes. The development means that India are playing an extra spin-bowling option here.

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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