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The India National Cricket Team will be hosting the Afghanistan National Cricket Team in a one-off Test match starting from Saturday at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh. This is a return for the Men in Blue side after the TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) and after a long gap from the traditional format.
The one-off Test match will not be counted under the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 cycle. However, Shubman Gill and his boys will be ready to crush their opposition in Mullanpur. Ahead of the Test match, India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has dropped a massive update on the player who will bat at No.3 in the Test match.
Devdutt Padikkal or Sai Sudharsan to play tomorrow?
According to assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate, with the end of the IPL, the contest for the key number three place has become a tough conversation between Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan. Both players bring significant momentum to the selection table, despite their recent triumphs in slightly different formats.
It was spotted that Devdutta Padikkal was doing his catching drills in the slip cordon, as believed to be the one appearing for the No.3 spot for India ahead of Sai Sudharsan. Ryan ten Doeschate has made it clear that the batter who features tomorrow will have a long run in the traditional format of the game.
Stick to something- Ryan ten Doeschate hints at India's no.3 for Afghanistan Test
Ryan ten Doeschate said, “Look, there’s been a lot of changes in that spot and that’s not ideal,” ten Doeschate told reporters on Thursday. “You need to look at the incumbents for that role and maybe stick to something. It’s a difficult position to bat and a very important position to bat.”
“I think whoever plays will be given a bit of rope,” he said. “It’s quite difficult with one Test match now, and then we don’t play a Test match for another two months. We need to factor that in, but the main point is we want to make a decision and then trust that player to grow into the role. We don’t have time to bed people in.”
Padikkal edging over Sai for No.3 spot for India
Devdutt Padikkal has been going through a purple patch across formats. He scored 543 runs in six Ranji Trophy matches at a remarkable average of 60.33 and followed that up with 309 runs at an average of 61 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. His enthusiasm carried over into the IPL, where he scored 464 runs with an average of 33.14 and a strike rate of 168.72 and three half-centuries.
Sai Sudharsan has had a cold first-class season and failed to pile up as many runs as in his earlier seasons. However, coming from an IPL season where he has piled up more than 700 runs this season and was key for the Gujarat Titans while helping them to qualify for the final. Though both formats are different and he has played in the position and has failed to pile up many runs.
