Aakash Chopra has questioned the India A’s red-ball squad for the unofficial Test series against Australia A and asked if the selectors’ focus was only on the white-ball team.
Devdutt Padikkal will lead the team in two unofficial Test matches and will be assisted by Sai Sudharsan. Apart from them, Anshul Kamboj is the only other player who has played Test cricket. Kamboj played one Test against England during the five-match series in 2025. Tanush Kotian has been part of the Test team but is uncapped. Tushar Deshpande is only capped in white-ball cricket.
“It seems like the entire focus was on One-day. It seems like the days’ format wasn’t taken that seriously, although our No. 3 players, Devdutt Padikkal and Sai Sudharsan, have been made captain and vice-captain, respectively,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“They are saying they can compete with each other. Their names are in the One-day squad as well, but here they are the captain and vice-captain. Only one guy can play at No. 3. Devdutt Padikkal is the captain. He will play at No. 3. Sai Sudharsan will have to bat up or down the order,” he added.
Since Padikkal is the captain, he will, of course, bat at number three. Sudharsan, a number three regular for India, can also open the innings but he has been batting at number three since his debut.
Padikkal vs Sudharsan for number 3 spot
was set to bat at number three in the Test series against Sri Lanka but he was ruled out of the series due to an injury. Padikkal capitalised on the opportunities in his absence and slammed back-to-back centuries against Sri Lanka.
Padikkal scored 211 runs in the series opener played in Galle. He followed up with a 117-run knock in the second Test in Colombo. Padikkal looks all but set to keep the number 3 when India make their return to Test cricket against New Zealand in November.