Gautam Gambhir's Sai Sudharsan move lets him to losing his biggest confidant

Former Indian head coach Anil Kumble was really shocked when he saw India’s playing XI for the first Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday (November 14). Kumble was really shocked by India’s decision to drop Sai Sudharsan for the ongoing Kolkata Test.

Instead, India once again went heavy on all-rounders, picking Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Axar Patel together. This unusual combination now pushes Sundar into the No. 3 role at Eden Gardens, something he has not done often in Test cricket. Sai Sudharsan lost his place after a series of poor performances in Test cricket.

Anil Kumble slams Gautam Gambhir's strategy for Kolkata Test; calls out Sai Sudharsan's omission

India has also placed Dhruv Jurel at No. 6, rewarding him for his stunning form after scoring two centuries for India A against South Africa A in the recent red-ball games. From their previous test against the West Indies, India made two changes: Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel came in, while Nitish Kumar Reddy and Sai Sudharsan were left out.

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Read Also: Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant body shame Temba Bavuma, call him a DWARF

Nitish Kumar Reddy had already been released earlier to join the India A squad for the unofficial ODI series, but Sai Sudharsan’s exclusion came as a big surprise. Meanwhile, Kumble questioned why India felt the need to play so many all-rounders when the pitch on Day 1 looked good for batting.

The legendary spinner felt three spinners were enough and warned that with four spin options, one of them might not get the overs they need against South Africa in Kolkata. With only two fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, in the lineup, Kumble reckoned that there would be huge pressure on them on Day 1 at Eden Gardens.

Anil Kumble shocked as India dropped Sai Sudharsan and pushed Washington Sundar to No. 3

Anil Kumble was quoted as saying by Sony Sports, “Really surprised at the lineup because I certainly expected Sai Sudarshan to be playing in this Test match. 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. 4 spinners and 2 fast bowlers. I certainly expected 3 spinners to play and 2 fast bowlers.”

The commentator further added, “So, that's going to be a bit of a challenge. Day 1, the wicket is good. It's not like you need 4 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 1. Of course, the 2 new ball bowlers will become that much more critical on day 1 for India.”

Read Also: Not Shubman Gill!! India's T20 captaincy candidate after Suryakumar Yadav being prepared, 1st assignment booked

Anil Kumble labels India’s XI as ‘All-Rounder Army’ in Kolkata Test

Additionally, Kumble pointed out that India’s lineup for the Test looks more like a team packed with all-rounders than a traditional batting order. With Washington Sundar pushed up to No. 3, the pure batters are limited to Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and KL Rahul.

Apart from Jadeja, Axar, and Sundar, the former Indian captain also called Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Sundar all-rounders, making the XI heavily stacked with multi-role cricketers. Kumble signed off by saying, “So, it's a team full of all-rounders, and that's probably the kind of team that India is going with in all 3 formats of the game.”