Sai Sudharsan Dropped: The Indian Cricket Team’s obsession with the all-rounders is at a different level. Recently it was seen in the first test between India and South Africa, where Sai Sudharsan got dropped from the team and replaced by Washington Sundar for the No. 3 spot.
Jurel scored twin centuries in the India A against South Africa A. In the last test against the West Indies, the Indian team made two changes in the Playing XI, where they brought in Nitish Kumar Reddy and Sai Sudharsan, replacing Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel. Nitish is currently featuring in the unofficial ODI series against South Africa A after he was released from the main squad.
“Sai Sudharsan Dropped, Who’s Going To Bat At No. 3?”: Anil Kumble
After seeing the squad of India in the first match, former Indian cricketer Anil Kumble was left stunned after seeing the team combination and stated that he did not expect Sudharsan to be dropped, questioning the constant need for India to have more and more all-rounders in the test lineup.
He said,
“Really surprised at the lineup because I certainly expected Sai Sudharsan to be playing in this Test match. Who’s going to bat at No. 3? That will be the question. Washington Sundar has been slotted to bat at No. 3, so India will be bowling first. 4 spinners and 2 fast bowlers.”
“I certainly expected 3 spinners to play and 2 fast bowlers. So, that’s going to be a bit of a challenge. Day 1, the wicket is good. It’s not like you need 4 spinners, and one of them will certainly get under-bowled. So, it’s going to be interesting to see how Shubman Gill uses his resources on Day 1. Of course, the 2 new ball bowlers will become that much more critical on day 1 for India.”
“Rishabh Pant Is An All-Rounder”: Anil Kumble
The former cricketer felt short of words when he was asked about the team’s combination in the first test. He said,
“It’s all-rounders. I mean, if you look at the batting lineup, Washington Sundar has been slotted at 3. So, obviously, if he bats at 3, then the batters are Shubman, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and KL Rahul. The rest of them are all-rounders. I consider Rishabh Pant as an all-rounder.”
“Dhruv Jurel is an all-rounder. Then you have Jadeja, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar. So, it’s a team full of all-rounders, and that’s probably the kind of team that India is going with in all 3 formats of the game.”
Talking about the toss between India and South Africa, the Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bat first.
IND vs SA PLAYING XI
INDIA PLAYING XI
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
SOUTH AFRICA PLAYING XI
Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (C), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (WK), Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj
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