Why is Sanju Samson not playing today’s AUS vs IND 2025 3rd T20I?

Sanju Samson's name was missing from India's playing XI for the third T20I of their ongoing five-match series against Australia. The game kicked off at Bellerive Oval, Hobart, on Sunday, November 2.

Many fans wondered why the wicketkeeper-batter was left out of the lineup for the crucial fixture. However, Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav didn't specify any particular reason for the change.

It seemed like a tactical decision from the Indian team management. Sanju Samson didn't bat in the opening encounter as the match ended in a no result due to rain. He batted at No. 3 in the subsequent fixture, but was dismissed cheaply.

The 30-year-old scored just two runs from four balls. He was out LBW off a sharp nip-backer from pacer Nathan Ellis. Australia completed a four-wicket victory in the clash to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

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Jitesh Sharma replaced Sanju Samson in India's playing XI for AUS vs IND 2025 3rd T20I

Jitesh Sharma will be India's wicketkeeper for the third T20I as he replaced Sanju Samson in the lineup. The Men in Blue made two more changes, with Arshdeep Singh and Washington Sundar coming in for Harshit Rana and Kuldeep Yadav.

Suryakumar Yadav won the toss for India and chose to field first. Speaking at the toss, he said (via Cricbuzz):

"We are going to bowl first. The ball will come on nicely to the bat in the 2nd innings. Happy to take it one game at a time. We have three changes - Jitesh, Arshdeep and Washington come in."

Here are the two playing XIs for the AUS vs IND 2025 3rd T20I:

AUS: Mitchell Marsh(c), Travis Head, Josh Inglis(w), Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, Sean Abbott, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann

IND: Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah