SA vs IND 2024: Why is Avesh Khan not playing the third T20I?

All-rounder Ramandeep Singh will make his international debut in the third T20I against South Africa in Centurion. He replaced Avesh Khan in the playing XI for India on Wednesday, November 13. Captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed the development as India decided to play an extra batter after a poor show in Gqeberha. Talking about the same, Suryakumar mentioned that they had to sacrifice one bowler and even though Avesh had done well, he had to make the tough decision.

Ramandeep meanwhile had a terrific time in the last edition of the Indian Premier League, in which, he played good cameos for Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring 125 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 201.61. He hasn’t bowled in the tournament but can be a handy option. Meanwhile, recently he featured for India A in the Emerging Asia Cup, in which, he also hit a half-century against Afghanistan.

“We have one change - Ramandeep makes his debut. Avesh has done well for us but one of the two bowlers had to make a sacrifice,” Suryakumar said during the toss.

India’s lower middle order now looks stacked after Ramandeep’s inclusion. Hardik Pandya is set to bat at number five, Rinku Singh at six and the all-rounder is expected to bat at seven, above Axar. The bowling unit of the visitors looks slightly weak in the absence of Avesh as Arshdeep and Hardik will be responsible for picking wickets with the new ball.

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South Africa, on the other hand, made one change to their playing XI. Lutho Sipamla has replaced Nqabayomzi Peter in the match as they hope to keep up with the momentum and take a lead in the series. Meanwhile, the hosts will be bowling first and skipper Markram also talked about the conditions and how his team is shaping up.

“We are going to bowl first again. The wicket looks good. Not quite at our best. We are making slow progress. The bowlers did a good job in the last game. The batters need to spend time in the middle and not be too desperate. We have full trust in our batting unit and hope we do something special tonight,” Markram said.

SA vs IND, 3rd T20I - Playing XIs

India: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram (captain), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Lutho Sipamla