Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh fight for No.3 spot in India Test XI; Sarfaraz Khan kicked out

Indian Test cricket has reached a turning point after the painful whitewash against South Africa. The Indian selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, is now reportedly preparing for a major shake-up in the batting order, especially the all-important No. 3 position.

For almost three decades, the number three position in Tests was safely handled by legends like Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara. But now, India's crucial position is wide open, and a fierce battle has begun following the 0-2 hammering at the hands of South Africa at home.

India set to hit the reset button after South Africa's hammering

Karun Nair was given a chance to make this position in England, but he failed to stamp his authority. Even Sai Sudharsan got 11 Test innings at No. 3, but he also averaged only 27. His struggles on spin-friendly Indian pitches exposed basic issues in his game.

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This led the Indian cricket team management and selectors to feel that Test cricket isn’t the place to fix such mistakes when the stakes are sky-high. Hence, they are now leaning toward proven domestic specialists. It is being said that Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran are no longer in the race.

Ruturaj Gaikwad emerges No. 3 favourite as India eyes a major Test rebuild

As reported by PTI, India’s domestic cricket stars Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rajat Patidar, and Rinku Singh have been shortlisted for Test opportunities. Gaikwad has become a strong favorite. He has a first-class average above 45 in 43 matches and has already scored two hundreds and a ninety-plus knock in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26.

Chennai Super Kings captain’s leadership experience in the IPL and his calm approach make him a serious contender for the No. 3 role in India’s Test line-up. On the other hand, Patidar, despite a shaky start in his first test run, remains a powerful domestic performer.

With an average above 45 across 74 first-class games, Patidar is likely to get his India chance soon in Tests. Even Rinku Singh brings the most dramatic numbers. With a near-60 first-class average in 52 games, the explosive batter stands out as one of India’s most consistent red-ball players.

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Ajit Agarkar defended amid India's Test crisis

His hunger and reliability could solve India’s middle-order troubles. There is also excitement around young talents like Smaran Ravichandran, who has a stunning first-class average of 78, and Yash Rathod, who scored 960 runs in the last Ranji season. But they are being seen more as future middle-order options.

A former Indian selector was quoted as saying by PTI: “People might blame Ajit and his committee for not selecting Abhimanyu and Sarfaraz, but then do the head coach (Gautam Gambhir) and new captain (Shubman Gill) have faith in their abilities? If not, what will Ajit alone do?”

Nitish Kumar Reddy is not the future of India’s Test team

Meanwhile, the debate around all-rounders has intensified. Nitish Kumar Reddy’s test average of 26 and limited bowling workload suggest that he may not be the long-term answer. The feeling growing inside the Indian camp is that the team must return to proper specialists instead of experimenting with bits-and-pieces options.

The former selector added, “But Nitish Reddy is a bits and pieces guy. He can play at best T20s, not even ODIs, and Gautam needs to understand that.”

He signed off by saying, “You will be a fool if you take every Gauti statement at face value. He can be ruthless if there's non-performance. Before you know it, you might see Sudharsan and Reddy fall by the wayside come 2026. He only backs performers.”