Why Mohammad Shami is not playing today

Team India pacer Mohammad Shami is not part of the playing XI for the ongoing third Test of the Border-Gavaskar series. The right-arm pacer was in a fine run of form, claiming seven wickets and chipping in with some vital runs down the order as well.

Skipper Rohit Sharma mentioned during the toss that Shami has been rested for the contest. With Team India reportedly keen to sport a green pitch in Ahmedabad, coupled with the World Test Championship (WTC) final looming in the glaring absence of Jasprit Bumrah, the team might be on the lookout to protect their bowling spearhead. Sharma mentioned during the toss in Indore:

"We aren't there yet (WTC final) and we have to come and win this game, we have to try and repeat the things we did in the first two Tests. It is important to stay present. We have made two changes - Gill comes in place of KL. We have rested Shami."

He missed the tour of Bangladesh in December 2022 due to injury and returned in time for Team India's home season, where he has made quite an impact so far.

Who has replaced Mohammad Shami in the playing XI?

Despite Mohammad Shami's absence, Team India will continue to feature with two seamers in the playing XI. As a result, veteran seamer Umesh Yadav finds a place in the playing XI and will share the new ball with Mohammed Siraj when the time comes.

The Vidarbha-born pacer, an excellent exponent of reverse swing, especially on abrasive home pitches, last featured during the tour of Bangladesh, where he claimed seven wickets in the two-match series. Prior to that, he marked his presence on the tour of South Africa in early 2022.

India XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, KS Bharat (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj

Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (c), Peter Handscomb, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, Matthew Kuhnemann

Did Team India make the right call by deciding to rest the pacer at this point of the series? Let us know what you think.