Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss in Rajkot and opted to bat first against England in the third Test match on Thursday, Febuary 15. (Scorecard | IND Vs ENG Blog | Cricket News)
Speaking at the toss, Rohit Sharma said, "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 too asserted that they would have batted first if they had won the toss. He said, "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 sieze the game in and that's what India did in the last one. Just one change for us."
India have made few changes as they have roped on Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel in their playing XI. The duo will make their debut against England in the third Test.
Mukesh Kumar, confirmed BCCI in an official statement, was released from the Indian camp for the third Test against England in Rajkot. Replaced in the line-up by Mohammed Siraj, Kumar, instead, will link up with his Ranji Trophy team Bengal before rejoining the national team ahead of the fourth Test in Ranchi.
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson
India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
