Dhruv Jurel, who is coming on the back of two consecutive centuries in the second unofficial Test against South Africa A, is all set to play at No.6 in the first game of the two-match series against the Proteas in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy.
But it is fair to say that Sai Sudharsan is on borrowed time, and the pressure is mounting on the young left-hander from Tamil Nadu. The 24-year-old made his debut earlier this year in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, and since then, he hasn’t set the stage on fire, scoring just 273 runs in nine innings (five matches) at a below-par average of 30.33.
If Jurel maintains his form and Sudharsan continues his downward spiral, then a strong argument can be made for the former to be tried at No. 3, as there are no tangible flaws in his game. On the other hand, Sudharsan has a tendency to fall across the stumps, and this has led to him being strangled down the legside.
Even in the recent two unofficial Tests against South Africa A, Sudharsan failed to get going, scoring just 84 runs, with his highest score being 32 in the first innings of the first Test at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.
However, ahead of the first Test between India and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, who stood like a wall at No.3 for a number of years, exuded faith in Sudharsan, saying it is just a matter of him achieving his maiden Test century. However, he was also quick to point out that if Jurel maintains his form and the left-hander fails, then the former can be tried at the top of the order.
“It will be an important series for Sai. However, he is a young player who is maturing rapidly. He scored some runs in England. He also got some runs against the West Indies. He has shown that he has the potential. It is just about converting his starts. There were a couple of occasions in England where there were some soft dismissals as well. So we will have to ensure that he doesn’t give away his wicket. He converts his starts into a big one. Once he gets that first Test 100, I think he will be a lot more confident,” JioStar expert Pujara said while replying to a Hindustan Times query during a Media Day.
“And it’s not just about the No.3 spot. It is also about him proving that he can be part of this playing 11. It doesn’t matter whether he continues batting at No. 3 or, depending on the team’s requirements, if the batting position changes. As of now, yes, he is the one who will continue batting at No. 3. But Dhruv Jurel is someone who has also shown a lot of potential. If he starts scoring runs, you never know. He might be batting at a different position. However, Sai Sudarshan, being a left-hander, will find it crucial to maintain the No. 3 position. So I hope that Sai gets his maiden 100. He has shown a lot of potential. So I am very hopeful that he will start scoring runs very soon,” he added.
‘Doesn’t matter’
Recently, seven players from the main India squad represented India A in the second unofficial Test against South Africa A, where the latter pulled off an epic chase of 417. Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep failed to leave a solid impression, as the Proteas captain, Temba Bavuma, received some solid preparation ahead of the marquee series.
However, Pujara doesn’t believe that this sort of preparation will help the visitors in any way, as the challenge will be totally different once the series starts.
“Earlier, what used to happen was you always used to get a warm-up game. Now, the A teams play against each other. It’s great that both key players from both teams are participating in the A game. This also makes it very competitive for the other players. So, I believe that it’s important that the key players who can participate, especially before a big Test series, you need that warm-up game,” said Pujara.
“And if there is no warm-up game, the India A game works out really, really well. Even when we tour overseas, the India A squad plays against, such as when we went to England, it was the England Lions. When we go to South Africa, we play against their squad in South Africa. So, this is a very good initiative by BCCI that, before every big Test series, there are A games which are played. The key players who are participating in this game, whether it’s Temba Bavuma, who is getting to face someone like Kuldeep or Akash Deep. I don’t think it will make a massive difference when it comes to Test matches. It is also important for someone like Kuldeep and Akash Deep to see what Temba does in one of the domestic games. So, they can also explore his weaknesses when they are bowling against him,” he added.
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