Team India will take on Australia in the third and final ODI match of the three-match series on Wednesday. India took a 2-0 lead in the series by beating the visitors by 99 runs in the rain-interrupted second ODI in Indore on Sunday.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma on Tuesday said five players, including in-form Shubman Gill, will not be available for selection for the third ODI against Australia, as the squad has been hit by a viral sickness and some players have opted to return home.
While Shubman Gill is rested, Axar Patel is recuperating at NCA from the left quadricep injury that he suffered during the Asia Cup.
Pacers Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur, who played the first two ODIs against the Aussies, and Hardik Pandya, who is yet to play in this series, have opted to go back to their respective homes.
“We have got a lot of players who are sick and not available, a lot of players have personal problems so they have gone home and a few of the guys have been rested as well," Rohit Sharma said.
“Obviously, Gill has been rested, Shami, Hardik and Shardul have all gone home…again, personal things. Axar, obviously, is not available for this game,” Rohit said.
Rohit Sharma was given a short break by the team management and he will be back leading the side on Wednesday after missing out the first two ODIs.
On the Australian side, pacer Mitchell Starc might make a comeback in the third game. Talking about Glenn Maxwell, Starc said, "He (Maxwell) is on track as well. I am not sure about his particular timeline but no doubt he will be looking to make an impact as soon as he gets his chance."
Starc also replied to a query on Steve Smith's current form by saying, "His (Smith) numbers speak for himself."
"He (Smith) has been a high-class player and has been a massive part of all formats for Australia, so no concern there. It is the adjustment factor, coming back to India after a series in South Africa, some guys are coming off a break,' Starc told reporters in Rajkot ahead of Australia's training session at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium.
Usually a prolific scorer against India, Smith has scores of 0 and 41 in the first two ODIs on batting-friendly tracks, having flopped earlier in the Test series in February-March when he could only manage 145 runs across four Tests.
India vs Australia, 3rd ODI: Date, Time And Venue
The 3rd IND vs AUS ODI will be played on Wednesday at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot, Gujarat.
India vs Australia ODI: Live Telecast Channel In India
Sports18 channel will telecast the India vs Australia 3rd ODI live in India. Cricket fans can watch the match in Hindi on Colors Cineplex Superhits.
How To Watch IND vs AUS In Tamil, Kannada And Bengali
Cricket fans can tune in to:
Colors Tamil channel to watch the match in Tamil.
Colors Kannada Cinema to watch the broadcast in Kannada.
Colors Bangla Cinema for Bengali commentary.
IND vs AUS, 3rd ODI Live Streaming: How To Watch Online?
JioCinema will stream the India vs Australia match live in 11 languages on its app and website for free.
India's Likely Playing XI vs Australia
Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Australia's Likely Playing XI vs India
David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
(With PTI inputs)
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