Breaking: Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur rested from third ODI ...
Shubman Gill (left) and Shardul Thakur has been rested for the third ODI against Australia. (PTI)
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Breaking: Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur rested from third ODI against Australia at Rajkot
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Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur will not be playing in the final ODI against Australia at Rajkot as the team management has decided to give them a break. The duo will not fly to Rajkot, the venue of the third game, and will instead join the team in Guwahati where India will begin their ODI world cup journey.
Gill scored a century in Indore in the second ODI against Australia, his sixth overall and fifth in this year. Gill has two hundreds against New Zealand, and one apiece against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia this year. He also has a T20I century this year. Shubman Gill is the leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2023 with 1230 runs in 20 innings at an average of 72.35 and a strike rate of 105.03.
The first ODI against Australia was the first time he was playing at his home venue in Mohali as an India cricketer. “I was 7 years old when we came to Mohali for the first time. Since I had seen so many matches here as a spectator, it was a dream for me to play an international match in Mohali. I’d played a couple of IPL matches but to play an international match with my family watching was special,” Gill had said.
The team management have been planning the workload management for quite some time now. It was the reason why Indian captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were rested from the first two ODIs. Both the senior players will be joining the team at Rajkot.
Jasprit Bumrah was rested from the second ODI. The BCCI had tweeted, “He has gone to visit his family and given a short break by the team management. Fast bowler Mukesh Kumar has joined the team as Bumrah’s replacement for the 2nd ODI. Bumrah will join the team for the final ODI in Rajkot.”
The forthcoming World Cup will be a long campaign for the Indian team that will be playing in nine different cities. The team management have been trying to find ways to keep their players fresh before the big ICC tournament.
