The important news update coming in is that the Indian team have rested their premier fast bowler Mohammed Shami for the third and final ODI game against Australia taking place at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. India have gained some solid winning momentum ahead of the all-important ICC ODI World Cup 2023 campaign at home as they recently were crowned as the Asia Cup 2023 champions having defeated Sri Lanka in the finals. The Men in Blue have now also won the first two ODI matches against Australia at home taking an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match ODI series. 

Why is Mohammed Shami Not Playing India Vs Australia 3rd ODI? 

During the pre-match press conference, Indian captain Rohit Sharma revealed that their senior pace bowler Mohammed Shami is not available for selection in the India vs Australia 3rd ODI in Rajkot. With the series already sealed in their favour, the Indian team management is aiming to manage the workload of their players before the ODI World Cup 2023. Incidentally, Shami looked in a stunning form during the opening ODI game against Australia in Mohali where he ended up taking a match-winning five-wicket haul and gave away just 51 runs in his quota of 10 overs. 

The Men in Blue are playing as many as three specialist fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj in the playing 11 during this final ODI against Australia. This is the first game for Siraj in the three-match ODI series as he warmed the bench in the first two ODIs. 

"Conditions are much better here, looks like there’s good weather. Decent temperature as well, we’re just looking forward to this game. The breaks are more important from a mental perspective than a physical one. Very happy with how we played, almost everything we wanted to do we got it done. Gives us a chance for us to see what we want to do. Looks a bit dry, it’s going to play slightly better under lights, we wanted to chase anyway. Let's see if we can make use of the two new balls. Myself, Virat, Kuldeep are all back. From the last game, Ashwin is also missing, Washington is in. Ishan is not well, he’s got viral fever so he misses out," said Indian captain Rohit Sharma during the toss. 

India Playing 11

1. Rohit Sharma (C)
2. Virat Kohli
3. Shreyas Iyer
4. KL Rahul (wk)
5. Suryakumar Yadav
6. Ravindra Jadeja
7. Washington Sundar
8. Kuldeep Yadav
9. Jasprit Bumrah
10. Prasidh Krishna
11. Mohammed Siraj

India squad for third ODI against Australia

Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.