Here's Why Shardul Thakur Is Not Playing The 3rd ODI vs South Africa

Shardul Thakur is not part of the IND vs SA 3rd ODI. Skipper KL Rahul informed during the toss that the right-arm pacer is not part of the playing XI. India and South Africa are taking on each other in the 3rd and final ODI of the ongoing series today. The venue of the clash is Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town.

Indian skipper KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bowl first. During the toss, he revealed that India has made four changes to their playing XI. Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Venkatesh Iyer have been benched for IND vs SA 3rd ODI. Jayant Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Deepak Chahar, and Suryakumar Yadav have replaced them in the playing XI.

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Also Read: SA vs IND Toss Report- India tour of South Africa, 3rd ODI

Shardul Thakur Has A Little Niggle

While KL Rahul did reveal the reason why Shardul Thakur was benched for the game, air commentators mentioned that the right-arm pacer has a little niggle due to which he is absent from IND vs SA 3rd ODI.

Like most of the other Indian bowlers, Shardul Thakur did not give an impressive performance with the ball in the last two games, picking 1 wicket in the two games. However, the right-handed batsman gave a fabulous performance with the bat.

He slammed an unbeaten 50 in IND vs SA 1st ODI and unbeaten 40 runs in IND vs SA 2nd ODI. In both the games, Thakur was a bit expensive with the ball. He conceded 72 runs in his 10 overs in the 1st ODI and 35 runs in his 5 overs in the 2nd ODI.

Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Venkatesh Iyer did not manage to impress with their performances in the first two games. Ashwin accounts for 1 wicket in 2 games while Bhuvneshwar Kumar remained wicketless in both matches. Venkatesh Iyer had a good opportunity to showcase his batting might in both games. However, he got out for 2 and 22 in both ODIs.

The series has become a dead rubber as India has lost both the opening two games. South Africa defeated India in the 1st ODI by 31 runs. In the 2nd ODI, South Africa crushed India by 7 wickets. Now, if they win the 3rd ODI as well, they will whitewash India in the ODI series.

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