IND vs SL: Why is Hardik Pandya Not Playing Today’s India vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI? Who is India Vice Captain?

Hardik Pandya IND vs SL: The biggest breaking news from the India camp is that their premier all-rounder and vice-captain Hardik Pandya is not playing the third and final ODI match against Sri Lanka scheduled to be hosted at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. India went on to register an excellent 4-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the second ODI as KL Rahul scored a gutsy half-century during the tricky run-chase. The Men in Blue have already sealed the three-match ODI series in their favour by taking an unassailable lead of 2-0.

IND vs SL: Why is Hardik Pandya Not Playing Today’s India vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI? Who is India Vice Captain?

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, India captain Rohit Sharma revealed that Hardik Pandya is not part of the playing 11 for this third ODI against Sri Lanka on Sunday. Rohit also clearly mentioned that the vice-captain has been rested mainly in order to manage his workload while looking at his history of injuries. Also, Hardik captained the Indian T20I team as well during the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka and thus, has played as many as 5 white-ball games in a row. He contributed both with the bat and ball during those five white-ball fixtures and therefore, he has been rested considering this is a 50-overs World Cup year.

In the absence of Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul will handle the vice-captain duties. On the other hand, Washington Sundar and Suryakumar Yadav have been included in the playing XI.

“We will bat first. Looks a good pitch, try to make the most of it. Still a lot of areas we can keep improving, today gives up a chance to perfect those. We want to play close to a perfect game, we’ll never be the perfect game. Hardik and Umran are rested, Washington and Suryakumar are in,” said India captain Rohit Sharma during the toss.

IND Playing 11

1. Rohit Sharma (C)
2. Shubman Gill
3. Virat Kohli
4. Shreyas Iyer
5. KL Rahul (wk)
6. Suryakumar Yadav
7. Washington Sundar
8. Axar Patel
9. Kuldeep Yadav
10. Mohammed Shami
11. Mohammed Siraj

#TeamIndia Captain @ImRo45 wins the toss and elects to bat first against Sri Lanka in the third and final ODI.

Washington Sundar and Suryakumar Yadav come in to the XI.

Live – https://t.co/muZgJH3f0i #INDvSL @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/4TNIPSezrI

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 15, 2023

India vs Sri Lanka 2023 Schedule