'Yashasvi Jaiswal became scapegoat': Rohit Sharma shamed, called 'selfish' by fans for 'keeping himself in team'

India captain Rohit Sharma, on Sunday, faced the wrath of fans on social media after the team dropped Yashasvi Jaiswal for the second ODI match against England in Cuttack. Jaiswal, who was picked for the Champions Trophy as a back-up opener, made his debut in the first game of the series on Thursday in Nagpur. India's Yashasvi Jaiswal attends a practice session at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on February 8, 2025, on the eve of the second one-day international cricket match between India and England(AFP)

India made two changes for the match at the Barabati Stadium. While Varun Chakravarthy was handed his debut cap, becoming the second-oldest Indian to earn the honour in ODIs, Jaiswal was dropped to make way for returning Virat Kohli.

Following the announcement at the toss, Rohit was savaged on social media for making Jaiswal the "scapegoat" as fans served a sharp reminder to the captain on his own form. After his struggle in the Australia tour for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, where he scored just 31 runs in five innings, followed by a horror show on his return to Ranji Trophy last month, Rohit's lean run continued in the ODI series opener, where he scored just two runs.

England win toss, elect to bat

Earlier in the game, England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bat against India in the second ODI. England made three changes, bringing in Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton in the playing XI in place of Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer.

India lead the three-match series 1-0 after registering a four-wicket win over England in the first ODI in Nagpur.

India also made two changes as Kohli, who missed the series opener due to swollen knee, returned to the playing XI, while Kuldeep Yadav was rested.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Shami, and Varun Chakravarthy.

England: Philip Salt (wk), Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Gus Atkinson, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood.

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