TimesofIndia.com in Mullanpur: With temperatures nearing 40°C and the afternoon sun beating down relentlessly, Team India pushed through another intense training session in Mullanpur on Thursday ahead of the one-off Test against Afghanistan, beginning Saturday.With the Indian Premier League (IPL) having ended just three days ago and eight of the 15 squad members involved in the final, the Indian team looked right in the groove ahead of the red-ball challenge despite spending the last two months immersed in T20 cricket.ndia are dominating white-ball cricket, but in Test cricket, particularly at home, they have endured a difficult phase. To add to their concerns, they are yet to settle on a No. 3 batter. With Ravindra Jadeja being rested, another selection dilemma looms: which of the two 23-year-old left-arm spinners, Harsh Dubey or Manav Suthar, will earn a Test debut?
The No. 3 question
Before hitting the nets, the Indian slip cordon spent nearly half an hour on catching drills at the stadium. With Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal stationed at first, second and fourth slip respectively, Devdutt Padikkal slotted in at third slip and looked sharp.TimesofIndia.com understands that there is a toss-up between Sai Sudharsan and Padikkal for the No. 3 spot, a position that has become something of a revolving door in recent times. Since Cheteshwar Pujara’s exit from the side, seven different cricketers have been tried at No. 3.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-run mark only twice.Padikkal, meanwhile, has played two Tests. His last appearance came in Perth during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.The Karnataka captain was one of the standout performers in last season’s Ranji Trophy, amassing 532 runs in five matches at an average of 66.50, including a career-best 232 in the semifinal against Uttarakhand at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted that not having a fixed No. 3 in Test cricket has been a concern for Team India.“Look, there have been a lot of changes in that spot and that is not ideal,” he told reporters.“I think you need to look at the incumbents for that role and stick with someone. It is a difficult position to bat in and a very important one as well. Dev comes in with a mountain of runs in domestic cricket across formats, while Sudharsan has had an excellent IPL season with Gujarat. Both are in good form. Whoever plays, I think they need to be given a bit of rope. It is a tricky situation because we have one Test now, then no Test cricket for another couple of months. After that, there are two Tests and then another break. We need to factor that into our thinking.“The main thing is that we want to make a decision and then trust that player to grow into the role, ideally quite quickly. Given where we are in the World Test Championship table, we do not really have the luxury of a long bedding-in period. In hindsight, locking down that No. 3 spot earlier is probably something we could have done better,” he added.If the slip cordon is any indication, Padikkal may well get the nod ahead of Sai for the No. 3 spot.
Who will be Jadeja’s successor?
With Ravindra Jadeja being rested for this Test, India’s search for a long-term successor appears to have begun.Both Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey are in contention for a debut. The two 23-year-olds are left-arm spinners, capable batters and proven performers in domestic cricket.Dubey shot into the limelight after claiming 69 wickets during Vidarbha’s title-winning 2024-25 Ranji Trophy campaign. The Vidarbha all-rounder relies heavily on accuracy and control and has also registered nine half-centuries in first-class cricket.Suthar, meanwhile, has been on the selectors’ radar for some time. The Rajasthan spinner, who hails from the border town of Sri Ganganagar, has been a regular feature in India A squads.Suthar enjoyed a breakthrough domestic season in 2022-23, picking up 90 wickets across formats. He was Rajasthan’s leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy that season, claiming 39 wickets in six matches. Before that, he had taken 14 wickets in seven Under-25 one-day matches and 37 wickets in the CK Nayudu Trophy.
The left-arm spinner is more than handy with the bat as well. He has a first-class century and six fifties to his name.Ten Doeschate hinted that one of the two youngsters is likely to debut.“I would imagine Kuldeep (Yadav) will play and Washy (Washington Sundar) will play and then one of those two will play. The two new guys bat a little bit as well,” he said.The No. 3 position and Jadeja’s understudy are among the few unresolved questions in India’s playing XI. The team management appears keen to settle both issues sooner rather than later. Whether it is Padikkal or Sudharsan at first drop, and whether Dubey or Suthar gets the nod as the third spinner, the Afghanistan Test could mark the beginning of India’s next generation in two roles that need attention.
