B Sai Sudharsan, who made his Test debut in 2025 during the first match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England at Headingley, Leeds, has been part of three Test series so far, out of which he has been benched twice. Sudharsan will take the One-off Test match against Afghanistan as a key opportunity to cement his position at the No.3 spot.
Sudharsan has played a total of 6 matches and 11 innings, and scored 302 runs at an average of 27.45, which includes two half-centuries, while his highest score is 87. As the Men in Blue are all set to play their first Test since November 25, Sudharan will aim to showcase his potential with the bat.
The One-off Test between India and Afghanistan, which will be played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Stadium in Mullanpur, is not part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship. Both sides haven’t played a Test match since 2018 in Bengaluru.
Gautam Gambhir confirms No.3 spot ahead of Afghanistan Test
Ahead of the one-off Test, Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir confirmed that Sai Sudharsan will bat at No.3 as he hasn’t got enough opportunity since his debut.
“Sai Sudharsan has not got a fair chance. He played mostly in England, and I believe he needs to get a fair chance,” Gambhir said on Friday. “We can (only) pick 11 (players) and Sai isn’t in bad form. He scored 700 runs in IPL. If we judge Sai on basis of 4-5 games, we will never be able to build something.”
Heading into the World Test Championship, Gambhir said the this Test will play a crucial role in determining their fourth spinner for the upcoming two-match Test tour of Sri Lanka in August. India has given maiden call-ups to spin duo Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey, while the squad also has the likes of Kuldeep Yadav (left-arm wrist-spin) and all-rounder Washington Sundar (off-spin).
“Manav and Harsh are to a certain extent similar but different also in terms of release points. This match gives us a chance to determine our fourth spinner as we will take four spinners in Sri Lanka,” Gambhir said.
“We will need to prepare differently when we go to New Zealand. So, we will pull out a few ODI regulars who play Tests. We understand we need to prepare better for Tests,” Gambhir added.
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India’s squad for One-off Test against Afghanistan
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Devdutt Padikkal, Manav Suthar
