New Delhi: Head Coach of India Gautam Gambhir confirmed on Friday that left-handed batsman Sai Sudharsan will bat at number three in the one-off Test against Afghanistan starting in New Chandigarh on Saturday.“Sai Sudharsan did not get a fair chance. He played in England. We will give him a long rope,” Gambhir said during the pre-match press conference. “We can (only) pick 11 (players) and Sai is not in bad form. He scored 700 runs in IPL. If we judge Sai based on 4-5 games, we will never make anything.”Since then, the number three position for India in Test cricket has been unstable. Cheteshwar Pujara went out from the side. Since then, seven different batsmen have been tried at the one-drop, but none have managed to make the spot their own. Many of them were also not extended in this role. Pujara announced his retirement in 2025, although his last Test appearance for India came in the 2023 World Test Championship final.Shabman Gill had the longest tenure at number three before moving to number four after becoming Test captain. Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the format.Since Gill’s move, Sudharsan, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jural and Devdutt Padikal have been batting at the number three position.India’s 2-0 home series loss to South Africa highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the position. Sundar was promoted to number three in the first Test at Eden Gardens but was demoted down the order after India’s batting struggles.Sudharsan returned to third in the second Test against South Africa in Guwahati but was successful with scores of 15 and 14.The left-hander has played six Tests so far and averages just over 27.Despite India finishing sixth in the World Test Championship with 48.15 per cent points, Gambhir said the team still believes it can challenge for the title.“We are confident that we can win the WTC,” Gambhir said. This team has talent and hunger. On the quick turnaround after the IPL, Gambhir said, “There are no excuses. Test matches are about mental toughness.”
