Indian opener Shubman Gill and all-rounders Shardul Thakur, and Axar Patel have not travelled with team India to Rajkot for the final ODI against Australia on September 27. Patel has been ruled out of the third ODI as he is yet to recover from a left quadriceps strain. At first, India were expected to field a full-strength side in the third ODI before World Cup warm-up games. Mohammed Shami who picked up a fifer in the first ODI and Hardik Pandya who was rested for the two games are not with the squad as well.
Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been released to lead the second-string T20I side for the Asian Games 2023 men's competition. But Mukesh Kumar has been asked to stay back despite Jasprit Bumrah's return to the side. At the moment, India have 13 players in the squad. If need be, they may have to include local Saurashtra players to come in as substitutes on the field.
Skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Kuldeep Yadav have travelled to Rajkot to play their last ODI before the mega event.
With Patel yet to regain full fitness, Ravichandran Ashwin has presented a strong case for himself. In the first ODI, he picked up one wicket in Mohali. In the second ODI where boundaries were short, he got the better of Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner, and Josh Inglis. His carrom ball was too tough for the Australian batters to pick. He is a strong contender for the all-rounder spot in the World Cup squad if the need arises.
Washington Sundar is yet to get a chance in the ODI series as the team management stuck with Ashwin for the first two ODIs. Sundar who was recalled for the ODI Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka did not get to showcase his talent with bat or ball as the co-hosts were bundled out for a paltry total.
Also, it will be interesting to see if Australia field a strong XI to prevent a rare clean sweep. Skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell did not feature in the Indore ODI whereas Mitchell Starc is yet to make his first appearance on the tour.
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