India playing XI for IND vs AUS 3rd ODI: Kuldeep Yadav in, Prasidh Krishna replaces Arshdeep Singh

India have made a couple of changes to their playing XI with Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna replacing NKR and Arshdeep Singh

India cricket team have finally made much-needed amends to their playing XI for the IND vs AUS 3rd ODI, having already lost the series 2-0. After leaving one of their best bowlers out for the last couple of games, Shubman Gill has finally decided to bring Kuldeep Yadav into the XI in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy. Apart from that, Prasidh Krishna has also been drafted into the XI and will replace Arshdeep Singh in the line-up

India playing XI for 3rd ODI

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj
On bench: Dhruv Jurel, Arshdeep Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Nitish Kumar Reddy

India’s strategy to go with three all-rounders and pacers in Perth and Adelaide didn’t exactly work well for the team as they were defeated on both occasions. Kuldeep’s return to the playing XI is welcome news for both the team and the fans as the spinner is in the form of his life and could potentially be India’s X-factor on a surface at the SCG which could aid the spinners.

India have also decided to tweak their approach which earlier focused on batting depth. This has led to Nitish Reddy being benched after playing the last couple of games, paving way for Kuldeep to make it to the XI.

Arshdeep, who is India’s leading wicket-taker in the series, has been benched and Krishna replaces him in the playing XI. He will be bowling alongside Siraj and all-format player Harshit Rana.

No changes have been made to the top and the middle-order as India continue to back veterans Rohit and Virat at the top of the order. While Rohit showed promising signs with a 73-run knock in Adelaide after being dismissed for just 8 runs in Perth, the onus will be on Virat. The former Indian skipper has registered two consecutive ducks – the first time it has happened so in his career that has spanned across 303 ODIs. It would be interesting to see if he can fire in the IND vs AUS 3rd ODI, which potentially could be his last outing in Australia.