The Indian team management made as many as three changes in the playing XI for the third ODI against Afghanistan. The home team rested KL Rahul along with Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav.
The Men in Blue brought in Prasidh Krishna, Harsh Dubey and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Dubey played the series opener in Dharamsala. Nitish also played the first ODI while he missed the second ODI due to a swollen thigh. Prasidh also played the first game of the series. The management’s decision to rest Rahul didn’t go down well with Dodda Ganesh, who opined that it made zero sense.
“KL Rahul didn’t need this rest. He’s played only 20 balls in the series. Absolutely makes zero sense,” the former India pacer wrote on X.
Rahul isn’t part of the T20I team and he will have a few weeks’ break before he makes his on-field return. Following the completion of the Afghanistan ODI series, the Men in Blue will fly to Ireland for 2 T20Is.
After the Ireland series, the players will land in England for 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs. The 3 ODIs are scheduled to be played on July 14, 16 and 19 in Edgbaston, Cardiff and London, respectively.
Rahul has been out of the T20I team since the 2022 World Cup. He was the vice-captain of the team that suffered a 10-wicket defeat against England in the 2022 T20 WC semi-final.
Here are playing XIs of both teams
India:Â Shubman Gill (Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav
Afghanistan:Â Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Ahmad Malik