3rd ODI: Jadeja, Shami rested as England opt to bowl first; Varun out with sore calf

Ahmedabad, Feb 12 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) England skipper Jos Buttler has won the toss and opted to field first in the third and final ODI of the series here at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday.

India have made a flurry of changes to their starting combination with Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami both being rested ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy. Varun Chakravarthy also missed out on being in the starting XI with a sore calf, with Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar making their way into the playing XI.

“Varun Chakaravarthy was unavailable for selection for the 3rd ODI due to a sore right calf,” the BCCI update read.

England, on the other hand, were forced to make a change, with Jacob Bethell set to miss the Champions Trophy after sustaining a left hamstring injury in the second ODI.

Tom Banton has been added in the squad in place of Bethell and will be replacing Jamie Overton in the playing XI.

“We have batted first in the first two games so it will be a different experience today ahead of the Champions Trophy. It’s a decent wicket, we played New Zealand in the World Cup a few years ago, it was a black soil pitch and it played better in the second half. We have one change – Tom Banton comes in for Jamie Overton into the side,” said England captain Jos Buttler.

Meanwhile, India skipper Rohit Sharma said, “I wanted to bat first and put runs on the board because we bowled first in the last two games. It was important for us to get a win in the last game. The fielders portrayed themselves well in the last two games, a lot of young blood. We want to continue to do well in the field.

“They (Harshit Rana and Varun Chakravarthy) are pretty new in their careers so we want to keep the pressure away from them, let them do their own and they have got a lot of potential. We have made some changes – Jadeja and Shami have been rested, unfortunately, Varun has a sore calf. So, Washi, Kuldeep and Arshdeep come into the side.

So far, the Indian batters have simply outperformed their opponents, with Shubman Gill, Rohit and Shreyas Iyer occupying the top three spots for the most runs scored in the series.

Gill followed his brilliant 87-run match-winning knock in the first ODI with an elegant 60 in the second game. India will be relying on their openers to go full steam into the 2025 Champions Trophy, with skipper Rohit also marking his return to form after scoring 119 in the second game.

England opener Ben Duckett has been their most resourceful batter so far but has failed to capitalize on good starts. The 30-year-old left-handed batter also sparked controversy by stating he does not care about being swept in the ODI series ‘as long as we beat them in the final of the Champions Trophy’ in the build-up to the game.

Playing XI’s

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh

England: Philip Salt(w), Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(c), Tom Banton, Liam Livingstone, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood