Why are Varun Chakravarthy and Arshdeep Singh not playing in IND vs NZ 3rd T20I? Revealed
Varun Chakravarthy and Arshdeep Singh are not part of the Playing XI for the third T20I between India and New Zealand at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. Know why the duo has not been picked in the team.
Varun Chakravarthy and Arshdeep Singh missed out as India take on New Zealand in the third T20I of the five-match series at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Sunday, January 25.
The red-hot Indian team look to clinch the series as they have a 2-0 lead coming into the third clash. Their batters have done extremely well in both the previous matches, while the bowlers have complimented well as the Men in Blue look for another series win before the T20 World Cup 2026, which begins on February 7.
Why are Varun, Arshdeep not playing?
Coming to the match, India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bowl first. He confirmed that the team has made two changes with Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Bishnoi coming into the Playing XI. Arshdeep Singh and Varun Chakravarthy have made way for them as the duo has been rested, SKY confirmed at the toss.
"We'll look to bowl first, the wicket looks good, and there will be a little bit of dew later on. So, I would like to chase tonight. (Message to the teammates) I think let's try and repeat the good habits, be the same way, enjoy, be fearless, take your own calls when you're inside because two batters or bowlers who are bowling, I think they're the best to judge inside," SKY said at the toss.
"Enjoy it and at the same time be a little humble as well. It's always good, someone like Shivam, Hardik, and some days Abhishek Sharma chipping in one or two overs. It's always a big boost. Hardik has been doing that for India for a very long time. Shivam Dube is doing it recently. So it's a big boost, and we're very happy with it. We have two changes - Arshdeep and Varun resting tonight. Bumrah and Ravi Bishnoi come in," he added.
"I think it (wicket) will be pretty good again. With the batters, seeing what it does and then trying to put a good score on the board. I thought we batted quite well (in the last game), we played the game pretty well and then with the ball, we came up against a very strong team with good hitting. So I guess taking the learnings from the last game and trying to put them into this game. You have to move on pretty quickly. I guess the nature of the series is we roll around really quickly. With the nature of different games in different cities, you have to turn up and see what it's gonna do and then go again. So that's what we gotta do tonight. Neesh (Neesham) was gonna play, but he's crooked. So we've brought in Jamieson for Foulkes," New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner said at the toss.
New Zealand (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Tim Seifert(w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Kyle Jamieson, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy
India (Playing XI): Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah