IND v AUS 2020, 2nd T20I: Virat Kohli cites elbow niggle as reason behind Manish Pandey's exclusion

Indian captain Virat Kohli revealed at the toss for the 2nd T20I against Australia that middle-order batsman Manish Pandey has been left out of the playing XI due to an elbow niggle.

The 31-year-old has been replaced by Shreyas Iyer in the XI, while India have also brought in Shardul Thakur and Yuzvendra Chahal in place of Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja.

Pandey looked out of touch in the 1st T20I, scoring 2 off just 8 balls before holing out in the circle. Virat Kohli said at the toss:

"We have done well to come back into the game two times, once in the ODI and once in the T20I. That's exactly what we need, guys stepping up. Even if the template we've got doesn't work, they'll stand up and win you situations and eventually games."

"Chahal replaces him [Jadeja]. We have three changes today, Shami's been rested. Shardul Thakur replaces him. Manish Pandey's got a bit of an elbow niggle, so Shreyas Iyer replaces him."

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Virat Kohli looking to lead India to 9th consecutive T20I win

Australia v India - T20 Game 1

India have won their last 8 T20Is on the trot, and this is their longest winning streak in the format. Virat Kohli will look to extend the run to 9, and secure a series win in the process by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Kohli won the toss and opted to field first. Here are the playing XIs for the 2nd T20I between India and Australia:

India’s playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur

Australia’s playing XI: D'Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (c, wk), Steve Smith, Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, Sean Abbott, Daniel Sams, Mitchell Swepson, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa