India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate emphasized that Sai Sudharsan is fully aware of the tough competition he faces for the coveted No. 3 batting position in the Indian Test side.
Ahead of the 2nd Test against West Indies, which starts from Friday (October 10) in Delhi, Sai Sudharsan's place in the team seems shaky. After an underwhelming England Test series, he continued his lean start to Test career with just 7 runs in the 1st Test in Ahmedabad.
Amid this, the team management is in a tricky situation as they have to choose between keeping Sudharsan or bringing in someone like Devdutt Padikkal for the Delhi encounter. And India's assistant coach Ten Doeschate explained in the pre-match press conference about Sudharsan's awareness of competition
for the spots.
"I think he's under no illusion, and you can't hide away from the fact that you do fight for a spot in this environment. You saw Karun Nair get four Test matches in England. There are a lot of good players about to get on the heels of whoever has possession of that spot," ten Doeschate said.
Despite a mixed start with modest returns, the management believes in Sudharsan's ability, urging him to focus on believing in himself and to find ways of scoring runs consistently.
"We've obviously got a lot of belief in him to give him that number three spot. He's playing pretty nicely," the coach added.
Will Sai Sudharsan play in IND vs WI 2nd Test?
Despite Sai Sudharsan's slow start in his Test career, with only 147 runs in seven innings, including one fifty, Ryan ten Doeschate confirmed the player has strong backing from the captain Shubman Gill and the coaching staff.
Ten Doeschate said, "I am sure he does feel like he's got our backing, like he's got the captain's backing and the coaching staff's backing. And we feel he'll deliver on his promise very soon. "
The coach acknowledged the tough schedule and competition, but insists Sudharsan has the talent and ability to flourish if he can convert starts and score big runs. Although he didn't confirm, the words suggest Sudharsan's place under no doubt, at least for the 2nd Test against the West Indies.
