Why is Rohit Sharma not playing today: India have made a total of four changes to their Playing XI for a dead-rubber contest.
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During the fifth T20I of the ongoing India’s tour of West Indies in Lauderhill, India stand-in captain Hardik Pandya has won the toss and chose to bat in a dead-rubber contest.
“Batting gets slower in the second innings. We don’t feel we are playing in Miami but in some Indian city. Fantastic to come abroad and get this support. We spoke to the boys that no matter what happens, we have set some standards for the Indian cricket team so the intensity and the attitude stays the same,” Pandya told ESPN Caribbean at the toss.
Much like Pandya, West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran also wanted to bat first at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground today.
“We wanted to bat first but that’s fine. We have to prepare for the [ICC T20] World Cup. This is a fresh group and India is a great team as well,” Pooran told ESPN Caribbean at the toss.
Why is Rohit Sharma not playing today vs West Indies?
With Pandya representing India at the toss, it was evident that India have made at least one change to their Playing XI for this match. It was only during the toss that Pandya confirmed three more changes to their combination from last night.
Other than Pandya, batters Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer and spinner Kuldeep Yadav will be playing this match in place of regular captain Rohit Sharma, batter Suryakumar Yadav, wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Pandya made it a point to mention that all the above mentioned four players have been rested for this match.
While Pandya and Iyer had played the first three matches of this series, Kishan and Yadav will be playing their first match of the tour on Sunday. Readers must note that Kishan had last represented India during the tour of England exactly a month ago. Yadav, on the other hand, will be playing his first competitive match since Indian Premier League 2022.
Just like his counterpart, Pooran also announced four changes to their Playing XI. Batter Shamarh Brooks, all-rounder Odean Smith, pacer Keemo Paul and spinner Hayden Walsh have been included for opening batters Kyle Mayers and Brandon King, all-rounder Akeal Hosein and pacer Alzarri Joseph.
