IND vs ENG 2025: Why is Arshdeep Singh not playing 3rd T20I against England?

Suryakumar Yadav opts to field first in Rajkot

Home side India (IND) will take on England (ENG) in the third T20I of the series, at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot, on Tuesday, January 28. After the first couple of games, the Men in Blue find themselves in the ascendency. Both the previous games were won quite convincingly in Kolkata and Chennai, respectively.

Shami returns in Team India after 14 months, Arshdeep Singh rested

Meanwhile speaking of the ongoing proceedings, Captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss once again and elected to bowl first. He explained his rationale for wanting to chase and elaborated on the vibe in the Indian dressing room.

"We will bowl first, looks nice and hard, don't think it will change later as well. Rajkot has always been a good track, sure it will be a sporting one. We wanted to play a different brand of cricket, but at the same time, you need to understand the situation and he (Tilak) bailed the side out. We'll look at it as a three-game series from here, boys are charged up. Arshdeep is resting, Shami comes in," shared Suryakumar at the toss.

Suryakumar Yadav broke out the news the entirety of the Indian cricket fraternity was itching to hear. Arshdeep Singh, who in all honesty did not do much wrong in the first couple of games, made way for the returning Mohammed Shami. The first game saw Arshdeep end up with outstanding figures of 2/17; the same game in which he became India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is. He was at the receiving end in Chennai, conceding 40 in his allotted four-over quota.

For the unversed, Shami will be making his international comeback after 14 long months, having last played for India in the final of the Cricket World Cup in November 2023. It will be interesting to witness his pace and rhythm while bowling today as well as in the remainder of the white-ball series.

Jamie Smith will don wicketkeeping gloves for England

On the other hand, Jos Buttler highlighted the importance of this game and noted the internal change England made to their playing XI.

"Looks a really good surface, looking forward to batting. We would've chased as well. Looks a good wicket, guys have had a good practice yesterday and we're excited for the match. Was a really good game of cricket, we fought really hard and pushed them all the way. We need to play really well tonight. We know how well India play, they're a strong team. We need a good total to defend. Same team but Jamie Smith will keep wickets, Salt has got a little stiff calf," mentioned Buttler.

Also Read: Aakash Chopra questions BCCI over Mohammed Shami's treatment

India:

Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Dhruv Jurel, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy.

England:

Philip Salt, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (c), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith (wk), Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.