Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur set to be rested from 3rd IND vs AUS ODI - Reports

Team India players Shubman Gill and Shardul Thakur will not be part of the squad for the upcoming third and final ODI against Australia at Rajkot on Wednesday.

The team management has decided to give a small break to the duo following which they will report to Guwahati, where the Men in Blue are scheduled to begin their ODI World Cup campaign with a warm-up clash against England on September 30.

Gill continued his rich vein of form with a brilliant hundred in the second ODI at Indore, where Team India sealed the series. The opening batter had also scored a match-winning fifty in the hosts' five-wicket win in the series opener in Mohali on September 22. So far in 2023, Gill has scored 1230 runs in 20 innings at an average of 72.35 and a strike rate of 105.03.

Thakur, on the other hand, took three wickets in India's narrow loss against Bangladesh in the 2023 Asia Cup. However, he was wicket-less in both the ODIs against Australia after playing as the third seamer in the refurbished bowling attack.

The Men in Blue were without several big names in the ongoing series, with the likes of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, and Hardik Pandya rested for the first two matches. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah was also awarded a small break to be with his family and was replaced by Mukesh Kumar in the squad for the second ODI.

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Shubman Gill on the lookout to claim the No. 1 spot in rankings among ODI batters

The young opening batter sealed his position at the top of the order after a brilliant home season to kickstart the year. Shubman Gill's performances shunned Shikhar Dhawan out of the equation and the youngster has forged quite a chemistry with skipper Rohit Sharma.

Gill's performances have led to a meteoric rise in his place in the ICC rankings, where he is currently placed at No. 2, one spot below Pakistan skipper Babar Azam.

Babar holds the first spot with 857 points to his name, while Gill is slowly making his way to the top with 812 points so far.

Coming back to the series, Rohit will be back at the top of the order for the third ODI, while Virat Kohli's return will also lead to a reshuffle in the middle order. Ishan Kishan could potentially be back in the opener's slot at the expense of Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was dismissed for eight runs in the second ODI.

Will Shubman Gill be the leading run-scorer at the 2023 ODI World Cup for India? Let us know what you think.