India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday said Sai Sudharsan has not got a fair run at the Number 3 slot and indicated that the left-hander will be preferred over Devdutt Padikkal in the Test format ahead of the one-off game against Afghanistan here.
“Sai (Sudharsan) has not got a fair chance. He has mostly played in England and I believe he needs a fair chance. We can only pick 11 players and he is performing well enough to be on the field. He scored 700 runs in the IPL. If we judge him on the basis of four or five games, we will never be able to build something,” said Gambhir.
Gambhir also stated that the team will prepare four spinners for the tour of Sri Lanka in August.
With Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey aiming for one spot as a left-arm spinner, Gambhir said India will need to prepare multiple spin bowling options for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka—clearing that Ravindra Jadeja is very much a part of the team.
“Manav and Harsh are to a certain extent similar but different also in terms of release points. This match gives us a chance to determine our fourth spinner as we will take four spinners in Sri Lanka,” he said.
“We will need to prepare differently when we go to New Zealand. So, we will pull out a few ODI regulars who play Tests. We understand we need to prepare better for Tests,” Gambhir added.
Sai Sudharsan to bat at No 3, India to prepare four spinners for Sri Lanka tour: Gautam Gambhir
