India Vs Australia 3rd ODI: Shubman Gill, Shardul Thakur Rested For Rajkot Match As Rohit Sharma And Virat Kohli Return

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have decided to rest in-form opener Shubman Gill and all-rounder Shardul Thakur for the third ODI against Australia in Rajkot on Wednesday. Gill, who is the leading run-getter in the three-match series with 178 runs in 2 matches – including his sixth ODI century in the 2nd ODI win in Indore on Sunday, will miss out of the chance to topple Pakistan captain Babar Azam in the ICC ODI ranking.

Before the series, Gill – who was on 814 rating points in second pace compared to Babar Azam’s 857 – needed 200 runs to become the No. 1 ODI batter in the world ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 next month. Team India and Gujarat Titans opener will now end the series just 22 runs to become the numero uno batter in ODI cricket. Suryakumar Yadav is already No. 1 batter in T20I cricket.

Regular skipper Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli, who were rested for the first two ODIs against Australia will be returning for the third ODI against Australia. Pacer spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was also rested for the second ODI in Indore, will be returning to the Indian side for the third and final ODI against Australia.

According to Indian Express newspaper, Gill and Thakur will not fly to Rajkot, the venue of the third game, and will instead join the team in Guwahati where India will begin their Cricket World Cup 2023 journey in a warm-up match against England on Saturday.

Gill has two hundreds against New Zealand, and one apiece against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia this year. He also has a T20I century this year. Shubman Gill is the leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2023 with 1,230 runs in 20 innings at an average of 72.35 and a strike rate of 105.03.

“It feels good. We are satisfied as a team, we have the momentum at the right time. It depends on the situation, there’s definitely some confidence,” Gill said after the 2nd ODI against Australia.

The moment when Shubman Gill registered his 6th ODI Hundred! __#TeamIndia | #INDvAUS | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/SiIh7dWk2e — BCCI (@BCCI) September 24, 2023

“I can cover up later, and that confidence is because I am scoring at the moment. With the way KL (Rahul) and Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) played, they kept the momentum going. A target of 400 was going to be difficult on any surface, and the bowlers came out and did their job. I think the six against Green down the ground, it was really special for me,” he added.

Overall, Gill now has 1,692 runs in 39 international innings in all formats of the game, with six hundreds at an average of 51. Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian batter to score over 1,800 runs in one calendar year and Gill can beat Tendulkar later this year.