Skipper Suryakumar Yadav confirmed the change during the coin toss.
After much anticipation, talismanic India pacer Mohammed Shami has made his return to the Indian team after being named in the playing XI for the IND vs ENG 3rd T20I in Rajkot. Shami is making a comeback after spending a long time on the sidelines and will be replacing Arshdeep Singh for the match.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav confirmed the change during the coin toss, stating that Arshdeep has been rested to give way to Shami.
“We will bowl first, looks nice and hard, don’t think it will change later as well. Rajkot has always been a good track, sure it will be a sporting one. We wanted to play a different brand of cricket but at the same time you need to understand the situation and he (Tilak) bailed the side out. We’ll look at it as a 3 game series from here, boys are charged up. Arshdeep is resting, Shami comes in,” SKY said at the toss.
The decision also reflects the management’s strategy to manage bowlers’ workload while ensuring depth and balance in the attack.
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The match marked Mohammed Shami’s return to the Indian team after a gap of 435 days with his last appearance being in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup. Notably, the 34-year-old pacer has endured a challenging recovery journey.
After undergoing ankle surgery post-World Cup, Shami faced further hurdles, including issues with his left knee.
Speaking about India’s performance in the five-match T20I series so far, the Men in Blue have been stellar winning both the first and the second T20Is. Shami’s addition will further bolster India’s attack and a win today at Rajkot will seal the series for the hosts.
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