He scored 29 and 31 in the Eden Gardens Test.
With the second Test in Guwahati on the horizon, former India captain and current President of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has expressed doubts about the suitability of Washington Sundar at the No. 3 spot in Test cricket, citing adaptability concerns in challenging overseas conditions.
India’s search for the perfect No. 3 batter in Test cricket remains far from over as the team experiments with different players to succeed Cheteshwar Pujara. Since the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023, the No. 3 spot has become a revolving door, with seven players, including Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, Virat Kohli, Washington Sundar, Devdutt Padikkal, and KL Rahul, having been given opportunities, but none have established dominance.
In the recently concluded first Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the spotlight was on Washington Sundar, promoted to bat at No. 3 ahead of specialist batters Sudharsan and Padikkal. Sundar scored 29 and 31 in the Eden Gardens Test, where India suffered a narrow defeat by 30 runs and went 0-1 down in the two-match series. Notably, Sundar faced the most deliveries in the match among all batters on both sides on a pitch that turned square.
Despite his resilient innings, Ganguly stated that Sunday may struggle to manage the responsibilities of the No. 3 batter in South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia (SENA) countries.
“It’s been a tremendous time for Washington Sundar. I think he’s a good cricketer, he bowls well, he bats well, but I’m not too sure whether No. 3 is a spot for him in Test cricket in the long run, across all conditions,” Ganguly told India Today.
Batting in the lower order, Sundar has a decent batting record in Australia and England, having scored 198 runs at 28.28 in Australia and 284 runs at 47.33 in England, including a hundred and a fifty.
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Ganguly further emphasized that India’s top five batters, including the openers and the No. 3, 4, and 5 positions, should be specialists who can consistently perform across different conditions. He advised that the team management, led by Gautam Gambhir, will have to rethink Sundar’s role and possibly return to specialist batters.
“Your top five batters, openers, No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 must be specialists who can perform in those roles everywhere, and I’m not convinced Washi is India’s No. 3 in England, Australia, South Africa or New Zealand. That’s something Gautam needs to look at,” Ganguly said.
India’s experiments with the No.3 spot have been marked by poor performances from Sudharsan (73 runs in nine innings at an average of 30.33) and Karun Nair (111 runs in two matches at 27.75), with Nair now dropped and Sudharsan yet to claim the position. Other candidates like Gill, Kohli, Padikkal, and KL Rahul have been unable to stake a claim, with none maintaining a Test average above 38 at the pivotal No. 3 spot.
With the second Test scheduled at Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on November 22, India faces tough decisions on its batting line-up. The No. 3 conundrum remains unresolved, and the upcoming match will be closely watched to see if Sundar retains his spot or if another specialist is called upon to fill this vital role.
India are behind 0-1 in the two-match series and would look to avoid another whitewash at home, while reigning world champions South Africa must be aiming to continue their winning spree and seal the series.
Sourav Ganguly’s Suggested Batting Lineup:
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