Axar Patel is going to Miss Third ODI, set to join the team for World Cup warm-ups
The star all-rounder of the Indian cricket team, Axar Patel, will be unavailable for the third ODI match against Australia at Rajkot on Wednesday. He is currently at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore and is expected to recover from his left quadriceps strain before the start of the 2023 World Cup. He will directly join the team in Guwahati for the first warm-up fixture.
The team management decided to give rest to some of their core players, including Patel. Meanwhile, the spinning all-rounder, who sustained an injury during the Asia Cup 2023, won't be regrouping with the squad at Rajkot, but the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya have already flown to the city of Gujarat. Washington Sundar was added to India's squad in place of Axar and played in the Asia Cup Final against Sri Lanka. However, Ravichandran Ashwin has also entered the race after his sub-par performances against the Aussies in the first two ODIs.
A few speculations are floating in the media that the selector panel could swap Ashwin or Sundar for Patel in the World Cup squad.