Why is Krunal Pandya not playing in today’s 3rd T20I vs Bangladesh in Nagpur?

Krunal Pandya not playing in today’s 3rd T20I: The Indian cricket team hasn’t included the spin-bowling all-rounder for the series decider.

During the third T20I of the ongoing Bangladesh’s tour of India in Nagpur, India have left out all-rounder Krunal Pandya. The development was made by captain Rohit Sharma at the toss.

It was Bangladesh captain Mahmudullah who won the toss and chose to field at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium. “We’ll bowl first. The wicket looks good. India is a good chasing team, we’ll try to restrict them [India] as low as we can so that we can chase it down.

“It [to bat first] was in our mind, but we have considered dew factor as well. In the middle-overs, the run-rate has to be there and we have to keep wickets for the last few overs. Mosaddek [Hossain] is out due to an injury. [Mohammed] Mithun comes in,” Mahmudullah was quoted as saying during the toss.

Krunal Pandya not playing in today’s 3rd T20I

In the two matches that Pandya has played in this series, he has conceded 49 runs in six overs without taking a wicket. Sharma didn’t point out any particular reason for leaving out Pandya. However, it is worth mentioning that Pandya hasn’t taken a wicket in his last five T20Is.

“We would have bowled first as well. But, it’s a great challenge for us to bat first, post a challenging total and see what the bowlers have got to defend. Teams batting first have managed to defend scores because of the slowness of the pitch here. Those records are not for taking. You have to be good on that particular day,” Sharma said.

Manish Pandey’s inclusion reveals India’s batting worries. Krunal’s exclusion, however, leaves Rohit with reduced bowling options. Will the trade off click or bomb?

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) November 10, 2019

India have included batsman Manish Pandey for Pandya in this match. Pandey has been rewarded for his rich returns in the domestic circuit. Having said that, Sharma will have to manage his bowling resources for India only have five bowling options tonight.

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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