TimesofIndia.com in Milanpur: With the temperature nearing 40 degrees Celsius and the afternoon sun beating down, Team India pushed through another intense training session in Milanpur on Thursday ahead of the one-off Test against Afghanistan starting on Saturday.With the Indian Premier League (IPL) ending just three days ago and eight of the 15 squad members in the finals, the Indian team looked in a groove ahead of the red-ball challenge despite spending the last two months immersed in T20 cricket.ndia dominates white-ball cricket, but in Test cricket, especially at home, they have endured a difficult phase. To add to their woes, they are yet to settle on No. 3 batsmen. With Ravindra Jadeja rested, another selection dilemma faces: which of the two 23-year-old left-arm spinners, Harsh Dubey Or will Manusuther make his Test debut?
No. 3 Questions
Before hitting the nets, the Indian slip cordon spent nearly half an hour in a catch drill at the stadium. With Shibman Gill, KL Rahul and Yashwi Jaiswal at first, second and fourth slip respectively, Dev Dutt Padikal entered the third slip and looked sharp.TimesofIndia.com understands that there is a toss-up between Sai Sudharsan and Padikal for the No. 3 spot, a position that has become something of a revolving door in recent times. Seven different cricketers have been tried at No. 3 since Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped from the team.Sai has batted at No. 3 in 11 Test innings, but his returns have been modest. He averages 27.45 and has crossed the fifty mark only twice.Pedicle, meanwhile, has played two Tests. His last appearance in Australia was in Perth during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.The Karnataka captain was one of the standout performers in last season’s Ranji Trophy, scoring 532 runs at an average of 66.50 in five matches, including a career-best 232 in the semi-final against Uttarakhand at the Ekna Stadium in Lucknow.Assistant Coach of India Ryan Ten Duschet Admitted that not having a fixed number 3 in Test cricket is a problem for Team India.“Look, there’s been a lot of changes in this place and it’s not ideal,” he told reporters.“I think you need to look at who is responsible for that role and stick with someone. It’s a tough position to bat in and a very important one. Dev comes with a mountain of runs in all formats in domestic cricket, while Sudharsan has had a brilliant IPL season with Gujarat. Both are in good condition. Whoever plays, I think they need to be given a little rope. It is a difficult situation because we now have a Test, then no Test cricket for another two months. Then there are two tests and then another break. We need to incorporate this into our thinking.“The main thing is that we want to make a decision and then trust that player, ideally quite quickly. Where we are in the World Test Championship table, we don’t really have the luxury of a long time. In hindsight, closing that No. 3 earlier is probably something we could have done better,” he added.If the slip cordon is any indication, Pedicle could get the nod ahead of Sai for the No. 3 spot.
Who will be the successor of Jadeja?
After Ravindra Jadeja was rested for this Test, India’s search for a long-term successor has begun.Both Manav Sathar and Harsh Dubey are in contention for debut. The two 23-year-olds are left-arm spinners, capable batsmen and stalwarts in domestic cricket.Dubey grabbed the headlines after taking 69 wickets during Vidarbha’s 2024-25 Ranji Trophy title-winning campaign. The Vidarbha all-rounder relies heavily on accuracy and control and has also registered nine fifties in first-class cricket.Soother, meanwhile, has been on the selectors’ radar for some time now. The Rajasthan spinner, who hails from the border town of Sriganganagar, has been a regular feature in India A squads.Suther had a successful domestic season in 2022–23, taking 90 wickets across all formats. He was Rajasthan’s highest wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy that season, taking 39 wickets in six matches. Earlier, he took 14 wickets in seven Under-25 ODIs and 37 wickets in the CK Naidu Trophy.
A left-arm spinner does more with the bat. He has one first-class century and six half-centuries to his name.Ten Doeschate indicated that one of the two youngsters is likely to make his debut.“I would imagine Kuldeep (Yadav) will play and Vashi (Washington Sundar) will play and then one of them will play. Both the new boys will also bat a bit,” he said.The number 3 position in India’s playing XI and Jadeja’s understudy are among the few unresolved questions. The team management seems keen to resolve both issues as soon as possible. Whether it’s Padikal or Sudharsan at first drop, and whether Dubey or Sothar gets the nod as the third spinner, the Afghanistan Test could usher in India’s next generation in two roles that need attention.
