Sanju Samson’s name was notably missing from India’s playing XI for the third T20I of their ongoing five-match series against Australia. The match kicked off at Bellerive Oval, Hobart, on Sunday, November 2. This omission left many fans wondering why the wicketkeeper-batter was left out for such a crucial fixture.
However, Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not specify any particular reason for the change, indicating it appeared to be a tactical decision from the Indian team management.
In the series so far, Sanju Samson did not get a chance to bat in the opening encounter as the match ended in a no-result due to rain. In the second game, he batted at number three but was dismissed cheaply, scoring just two runs from four balls. He was out LBW to a sharp nip-backer from Australian pacer Nathan Ellis. Australia went on to win that match by four wickets, taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
### Jitesh Sharma Replaces Sanju Samson
For the third T20I, Jitesh Sharma has been brought into the Indian lineup as the wicketkeeper, replacing Sanju Samson. Alongside this change, India made two more adjustments: Arshdeep Singh and Washington Sundar came in for Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav respectively.
Suryakumar Yadav won the toss for India and elected to field first. He commented on the pitch, saying, “The ball will come on nicely to the bat in the 2nd innings. Happy to take it one game at a time. We have three changes – Jitesh, Arshdeep, and Washington come in.”
### Playing XIs for AUS vs IND 2025 3rd T20I
**Australia:**
Mitchell Marsh (c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (w), 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 (w), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
Stay tuned for more updates as the series progresses.
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