Team India took the field for the third One-Day International against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground with a noticeable absence: talented all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy. His exclusion marked one of two significant changes for the visitors in a series they had already lost, trailing 2-0 after defeats in Perth and Adelaide.
Reddy’s absence stems from a left quadriceps injury he sustained during the second ODI match in Adelaide. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Medical Team is closely monitoring his recovery, which unfortunately rendered him unavailable for this crucial series finale.
At the toss, Australia’s captain Mitchell Marsh won the coin flip and opted to bat first. The Australian side made just one alteration to their playing XI, bringing in Nathan Ellis to replace Xavier Bartlett. For India, led by captain Shubman Gill, two fresh faces were introduced to the squad: Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna stepped in for Arshdeep Singh and the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy, as they looked to salvage some pride in the dead rubber.
India’s Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.
Australia’s Playing XI: Mitchell Marsh, Travis Head, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Nathan Ellis, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, and Josh Hazlewood.