indian cricket team

Why Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson Are Not Included In India Playing XI for AUS vs IND 3rd T20I?

Disha Asrani

Last updated: November 2, 2025

3 min read

After Australia comfortably won in Melbourne, India have made three changes in the playing XI for the AUS vs IND 3rd T20I in Hobart. The notable omissions include Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, and Harshit Rana.

Another news from the match centre is that Suryakumar Yadav has won the toss and India will field first.

Details of India’s tour of Australia 2025

Why Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson Miss Out in AUS vs IND 3rd T20I

The left-armer leaked 45 runs in the previous four-wicket loss. Though he picked up two wickets, Kuldeep Yadav’s economy could’ve been a concern. Instead, Washington Sundar is added to the lineup. The all-rounder will add an extra batter too at the No.8 position. Sundar’s bowling average of 24 is almost double that of Kuldeep’s 13. But the youngster’s batting potential, especially in the lower-middle order, will be quite beneficial to India.

Irrespective of the three formats, Kuldeep’s inclusion has been uncertain. He was benched for the entire England Test tour from a couple of months ago. In his only appearance in the ODI series of the ongoing Australia tour, the 30-year-old gave away 50 runs.

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Sanju Samson is also struggling with a lack of form. In the last T20I against Australia, Samson was out for two runs. In the Asia Cup 2025, he managed only 132 runs at a low strike rate of 125. However, Samson performs best in the top order. Constantly changing his batting spot may have contributed to his decline. But his chances in the Asian tournament came at the cost of benching Jitesh Sharma, who is now picked for the 3rd T20I.

Jitesh is a like-for-like replacement who can play the role of a finisher. In nine matches, the wicketkeeper-batter has struck 100 runs. His strike rate of 147 matches Samson’s, who has 995 runs in 43 innings.

Earlier, the hosts won the ODI series 2-1. After a rain-marred first fixture, Australia lead the five-match T20I series 1-0. Depending on the performances in Hobart and the pitch conditions in Gold Coast for the 4th T20I, captain SKY will take a call between Kuldeep and Sundar. However, if Jitesh performs well in this 3rd T20I, his place would be certain for the upcoming two fixtures.

India Playing XI

Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (w), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Australia Playing XI

Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (w), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, and Matthew Kuhnemann.

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