Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya will not play first two ODI’s in the upcoming Australia series. The decision was taken considering work load management.
The Indian team are recently coming off a grueling Asia Cup where they defeated Sri Lanka in the final by 10 wickets to clinch their 8th title.
The three players will return to the starting XI in the 3rd match of the series. Additionally, Ravichandran Ashwin was also included in the squad for the Australia series as well.
In place of Rohit, KL Rahul will be leading the Indian team in the first 2 ODI matches. The injured Axar Patel’s selection in the third and final ODI will be subject to fitness.
On Sunday, Rohit had revealed that Axar Patel, who picked up a left quadriceps strain during the match against Bangladesh is also unlikely to be available for the first two ODIs against Australia starting on Friday.
It is understood that Axar will head to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for his rehabilitation as the Indian team for the Australia series could see a few changes.
On Saturday, while ruling him out of the Asia Cup final, the BCCI had stated that Axar has a strain. However, the scan results seem to have revealed a tear. “Axar had a small tear. It looks like maybe a week or ten days (to heal), I don’t know. We have to see how that injury progresses. Some guys recover quickly, and I hope that’s the case with him. I am not sure whether he will be able to play the first two games against Australia at home. But we will wait and see,” Rohit had said in the post-match press conference.
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