Team India won the toss and opted to bat first against India/England in the third Test of the five-match series at Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Thursday, February15.
India made four changes to their playing XI from the previous Test in Vizag. The hosts brought in two debutants Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan while Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj are back in the playing XI. Jadeja was ruled out of the second Test due to injury while Siraj was rested ahead of Rajkot Test.
England already announced the squad on the eve of the Rajkot Test, making a change in their playing XI. The visitors dropped rookie spinner Shoaib Bashir to bring in pacer Mark Wood. Unlike last two matches, England went with two specialist pacers instead of one.
Playing XI
IND: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(C), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
ENG: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(C), Ben Foakes(WK), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson
Captains Corner
Rohit Sharma: We're going to bat first. We've made some changes, made four changes. Some injuries and some guys coming back from the last game. Two debutants. Siraj and Jadeja are back. Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar miss out. Looks a good pitch, better than the last two we've played on. Rajkot is known to be a good pitch but it'll deteriorate as it goes.
The guys have stood up and done the job for the team when it was needed. The next three Test matches will be as exciting as the first two. Need to keep our focus here and see how we can do well.
Ben Stokes: We would've batted first too. (On playing his 100th Test) Time flies when you're having fun. The series has been a fair reflection of both teams, we've been very happy with the way we've gone about things in the first two Tests. We had a nice break, gave everyone a chance to relax. There was no cricket, we got the families out, it was great.
Being here for so long is both physically and mentally demanding. Was a nice opportunity to put the feet up and get some time away from cricket. In Test matches there are only so many moments that you seize the game in and that's what India did in the last one. Just one change for us.
Mukesh Kumar released from Test squad
Mukesh Kumar has been released from the squad ahead of the third Test against England in Rajkot. The 30-year-old featured in India's 106-run win over tourists in Vizag.
Mukesh was replaced by Mohammed Siraj, who was rested for the 2nd Test in Vizag. In the statement released by BCCI on its X handle (formerly Twitter), Mukesh Kumar will link up with his Bengal teammates for final Ranji Trophy fixture and return to national for Ranchi Test.
Mukesh Kumar is likely to feature in the fourth Test against England as Jasprit Bumrah will given a rest by Team India management for that particular match as part of workload management.
Mukesh has played 3 Tests and scalped seven wickets at an average of 25.27 and with an economy rate of 3.78 in six innings.
