Gill, Axar, Thakur absent in India’s squad ahead of final ODI against Australia

India skipper Rohit Sharma and stalwart batter Virat Kohli had been rested for the first two games and will return for the final game

Rajkot: India’s three key players Axar Patel, Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur have not travelled with the ‘Men in Blue’ to Rajkot for their final ODI against Australia according to ESPNcricinfo.

Axar is in a race against time to get fit after injuring his left quadriceps during India’s final Asia Cup Super Four match against Bangladesh.

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Washington Sundar, who had been brought in from Bengaluru just the day before before the final, took his spot in the starting lineup.

India skipper Rohit Sharma and stalwart batter Virat Kohli had been rested for the first two games and will return for the final game. However, ESPNcricinfo revealed that Mohammed Shami, who played the first two games, and Hardik Pandya, who skipped the initial games as well, are not with the squad.

Mukesh Kumar and Washington are a part of India’s squad for the third game, however, they are also in the Asian Games squad.

They are expected to leave for China late on September 27, the same day as the third ODI. India will kick off their
Asian Games campaign on October 3.

Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin who emerged as one of the possible replacements for the injured Axar Patel has impressed with his recent performances. Ashwin has given a fair account of himself so far, returning 1/47 and 3/41 in the first two games of the series.

Throughout the series, India outplayed Australia with both bat and ball to clinch the three-match ODI series 2-0 after winning the second match by 99 runs through The Duckworth ‘Lewis’ Stern (DLS) method at the Holkar Cricket Stadium last Sunday.

In the first match, Mohammed Shami’s five-wicket haul helped India to restrict Australia to 276 in the opening game of the three-match ODI series against Australia in Mohali. India chased down the total and registered a 5-wicket victory.