28 January,2025 06:46 PM IST | Rajkot | mid-day online correspondent
Mohammed Shami (Pic: AFP)
India pacer Mohammed Shami made his much-awaited comeback as captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to field against England in their third T20I at the Niranjan Shah Stadium on Tuesday.
Shami, who last played for India in the 2023 ODI World Cup final, was sidelined for more than a year due to an ankle surgery and later faced a setback due to issues with his left knee.
The 34-year-old replaced left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh who was rested for the contest.
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Meanwhile, captain Suryakumar Yadav will also be expected to get back to his belligerent best after a prolonged lean run. Since he took over as captain last year, India have hardly put a wrong but his own form has dipped. The year gone by was the least productive for arguably the world's best T20 batter as he totalled 429 runs in 17 innings at an average of 26.81.
Suryakumar averaged close to 35 in 2021, his first year in international cricket, before raising it to 45 plus in the following two years.
The 34-year-old from Mumbai is yet to fire in the five-match series against England and has a point to prove following his exclusion from the ODI Champions Trophy squad.
Though he is India's very own 'Mr 360', Suryakumar is at his finest when he is toying with the opposition attack with runs behind the wicket.
He perished while attempting his signature pick up shot of a slower ball in the series-opener before playing one on to his stump in the last game.
India hold a 2-0 lead in the five-match series after winning the first match in Kolkata by seven wickets and the second in Chennai by two wickets.
England retained their playing XI for this contest.
Teams:
India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Varun Chakravarthy.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Ben Duckett, Philip Salt (wk), Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood.
