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Sai Sudharsan was left out of the hosts' starting lineup for the first Test match between South Africa and Team India at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Sai Sudharsan's exclusion from the starting lineup for the opening Test match against South Africa at Eden Gardens, which begins on Friday, November 14, has drawn criticism from former India player Dodda Ganesh.
The former cricket player who is now a coach claimed that the Indian cricket team lacks a plan for the number three spot and is just playing musical chairs. In home conditions, he said, the hosts didn't require four spinners.
Washington Sundar has been chosen by Team India's mind tank to be their third batter for the match against Eden. The management previously experimented with a number of players, including KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, and Karun Nair, after letting go of Cheteshwar Pujara. However, none of the batsmen experienced much success in this role.
Taking to X, Ganesh wrote, "The no 3 in the batting lineup is the most imp slot in a test XI & Ind is playing musical chairs without a vision. Can't believe this is happening at the test level. Should've given Sai Sudharsan these tests. U don't need 4 spinners no matter how much turn the pitch offers #INDvSA"
Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar make up Team India's four-pronged spin attack. Rishabh Pant has returned to his position as the chosen wicketkeeper-batter, while the in-form Dhruv Jurel has kept his spot.
Sudharsan was chosen to compete in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. But he fell short of expectations, scoring just 140 runs at an average of 23.33 in three games, including just one fifty. The left-handed hitter scored 133 runs at an average of 44.33 in his maiden home series against the West Indies.
Sudharsan has scored 273 runs at an average of 30.33 in his five Test matches thus far. In addition, he has two half-centuries with a maximum score of 87. Prior to being removed from the starting lineup, Sudharsan had scored 32, 12, 17, and 23 in India A's two unofficial Test matches against South Africa A.
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