India’s young batter Sai Sudharsan has faced pressure after his disappointing performance in the second Test against West Indies in Ahmedabad. Despite this, captain Shubman Gill publicly showed his support by helping Sudharsan with throwdowns in practice and backing him as the team’s long-term No. 3 batter. Speaking at the pre-match press conference on October 9 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, Gill stated, “Young players will not get a hundred in every match. You have to give them the chance and then only decide what else he can do to better. Right now we see him as a long term batter who’ll bat for us at no.3.”
Sudharsan, who made his Test debut in England, has played four Tests so far, accumulating 147 runs in seven innings with an average just over 21. He has scored only one half-century, which came in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. Despite being under the spotlight for not justifying his No. 3 spot, Sudharsan had previously impressed with two fifties and a century against Australia A in Lucknow. However, in the Ahmedabad Test, he was dismissed for a single-digit score, lbw by West Indies captain Roston Chase.
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No.3 Middle Muddle
Other options in India’s current squad who can bat at No. 3 include Devdutt Padikkal and Narayan Jagadeesan. Padikkal played at No. 3 in the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Perth. Jagadeesan has demonstrated his ability to bat in the top order as well, scoring a commanding 197 against North Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025 fixture, and 138 runs from three innings against Nathan McSweeney-led India A. While Padikkal scored 150 in the first game against Australia A in Lucknow, he followed that with low scores of 1 and 5 in the second game.
India’s Test squad for the West Indies series includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, captain Shubman Gill, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, N Jagadeesan, Axar Patel, Prasidh Krishna, and Devdutt Padikkal.
The team management is giving Sudharsan a long rope and showing patience, hoping he develops into a crucial player at No. 3 while having capable alternatives ready.