IND Vs AFG: Third man spot still undecided in Test match against Afghanistan, Sai or Padikkal who will win the trust

• Which player will play at number 3 exactly?

• Indian assistant coach Ryan claimed two names

• Who exactly can play Sai Sudarshan or Devdutt Padikkal?

Indian Cricket Team One test match will be played against Afghanistan, but the biggest challenge ahead of them is the number three batsman. Ever since Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped from the team and subsequently retired, India’s Test team has been missing a number three batsman who can man the position. Assistant coach Ryan Ten Doschet wants whoever fills the No. 3 slot, be it Sai Sudarshan or Devdutt Padikkal, to have consistency in his game.

Apart from these two, India also tried current captain Shubman Gill, Karun Nair and Washington Sundar at number three, but to no avail. Ten Doschet hinted that whoever fills the position will be given a bigger opportunity. Speaking to the media ahead of the match, he said, “There’s been a lot of changes at this position and it’s not an ideal situation. You have to look at the current players for the role and maybe keep one.”

Opinion on Sai and Devdutta

Ten Douchet agreed that both the batsmen are in good form at the moment. Be it domestic cricket or the recently concluded Indian Premier League, Sai and Devdutt have shown good form. He said that the role of number three is difficult, especially when there is a long gap between Test matches. India’s last Test was against South Africa in December. After the lone Test against Afghanistan, India will play a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in August.

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3rd place is very important

“It’s a difficult and very important place for batting. God domestically,” said ten Douchet of cricket Scoring a lot in all formats. Sai has scored a lot of runs for Gujarat in the IPL, so both are in good form. Whoever plays will be given some chance. It is difficult at the moment because there is one Test match, then no Test matches for two months. Then there are two Test matches and then no matches for a long time. So we have to keep that in mind.”

Emphasis on the need to decide for the third place

Despite the need for more time, ten Douchet also agreed that the decision to select and back a batsman for the number three role should be made early. He added, “The important thing is to make a decision and then trust that the player will adapt to the role quickly. Given our position in the WTC rankings, maybe we could have already backed someone for the spot.”

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Sudarshan vs Padikkal Test Stats

Sudarshan has played six Tests so far, scoring 302 runs at an average of 27.45. He has two Test half-centuries to his name. His first-class average is also below 40. Padikkal has played two Tests in 2024, scoring 90 runs in three innings and scoring a half-century on debut against England. His first-class average is 42.67.