AUS vs IND: Here’s why Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav are not playing today’s match at Hobart

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In what promises to be a high-voltage contest, India have won the toss and opted to bowl first in the third T20I of the ongoing five-match series against Australia at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The visitors are aiming to level the series after going down in the second T20I, while Australia look to extend their lead to 2-0. The opening game of the series was abandoned due to rain, making this fixture a crucial one for both sides.

At the toss, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav announced three changes to the lineup that featured in the previous encounter. Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, and Kuldeep Yadav were all left out of the playing XI. Though Suryakumar didn’t elaborate on the reasons for these omissions, it is widely believed that India are experimenting with their combination and offering opportunities to players who haven’t featured in the series yet.

The trio has been replaced by Jitesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, and Washington Sundar. The inclusion of Arshdeep, in particular, caught the attention of fans and pundits, as many were anticipating his return to the T20I setup. With his left-arm pace and ability to bowl at the death, Arshdeep is expected to add much-needed variety to India’s bowling attack.

“We are going to bowl first. The ball will come on nicely to the bat in the second innings. Happy to take it one game at a time. We have three changes – Jitesh, Arshdeep, and Washington come in,” said Suryakumar during the toss.

The inclusion of Washington also gives India more balance, providing both spin depth and a handy batting option in the lower order. Meanwhile, Jitesh’s inclusion ahead of Samson suggests India’s intent to test another wicketkeeping option ahead of future assignments.

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Australia, on the other hand, have made a solitary change to their winning combination. Skipper Mitchell Marsh confirmed that Sean Abbott replaces Josh Hazlewood, adding a touch of freshness to their pace unit.

“It’s a belter of a wicket. We want to get off to a good start and post a big total. We’ve just made one change – Abbott is in for Hazlewood,” said Marsh.

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann

India: Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah

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