India pulled out a surprise on the opening day of their first Test against South Africa in Kolkata when they excluded young batter B. Sai Sudharsan from their playing XI. Sudharsan has been India’s No.
3 since the England tour, but the team management has now switched their focus to grooming a new batter, possibly Washington Sundar, for the role.
In nine innings, Sudharsan scored 273 runs at an average of 30.33, including two half-centuries, since making his debut during the England tour earlier this year. However, the decision to drop the 24-year-old hasn’t gone down well with a couple of former India cricketers, including the legendary Anil Kumble, who differed with India’s decision to field four spinners for the Kolkata Test.
“Really surprised at the line-up because I certainly expected Sai Sudarshan to be playing in this Test match,” Kumble said on JioHotstar. “Who’s going to bat at No. 3? That will be the question. Washington Sundar has been slotted to bat at No. 3, so India will be bowling first. Four spinners and two fast bowlers.”
“I certainly expected three spinners to play and two fast bowlers. So, that’s going to be a bit of a challenge. Day one, the wicket is good. It’s not like you need four spinners and one of them will certainly get under-bowled. So, it’s going to be interesting to see how Shubman Gill uses his resources on Day one. Of course, the two new ball bowlers will become that much more critical on Day one for India,” he added.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra felt India would under-bowl at least one bowler thanks to the combination they’ve picked. “Sai should’ve played in this Test. India will be under-bowling at least one, if not two, bowlers in this Test,” he posted on X.
Sai should’ve played in this Test.
India will be under-bowling at least one if not two bowlers in this Test. #IndvSA
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 14, 2025
In another post, Chopra wondered if India would persist with Sundar at No. 3 when playing overseas.
“It’s not about Sundar, to be honest. Unless he’s our next No. 3 for overseas Tests too. India’s tried seven different batters at Number-3 since Pujara vacated that space,” he posted.
