'The No.3 position': India's unanswered question during England tour after Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan failures

The Indian team had a sweet end to a long England tour on Monday (August 4) after they beat England by a mere six runs at The Oval. The win saw both India and England share the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, with both teams winning two matches each.

The new-look Indian side had Shubman Gill as the skipper with no Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the side for the first time in more than a decade in the red-ball format. As India enjoyed a huge batting success, there was the curious case for ‘No.3 position’ which is well and truly up for grabs after Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan failed to make their mark.

Karun Nair, Sai Sudharsan fail at No.3

During the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Karun Nair played at the No.3 position on four occasions during the Edgbaston and Lord’s Test, scoring 111 runs. His highest score across the four innings was 40 as he clearly struggled to nail down a place in the position. He was also used as a No.5 in the Headingley and the Oval Tests, but failed to make an impression, scoring 94 runs in four further innings.

Considering Ravindra Jadeja was scoring runs in tandem despite not being a full-time batter, it showed Nair’s inability to adapt against the lethal English attack. Interestingly, he had scored 204 against England Lions in a warm-up match before the series started.

On the other hand, Sai Sudharsan scored slightly more runs at No.3 for India, but he also played two more innings compared to Nair. While he got a fifty at Old Trafford, he was also on the receiving end of two ducks in that position. In total, Sudharsan scored 140 runs in six innings, highlighting India’s flaws at No.3 while batters like KL Rahul and Shubman Gill were excelling.

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Who are the options?

As things stand, India will have to rethink their plans for the No.3 position with the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Sarafraz Khan on the waiting list. However, neither is a natural No.3 option, meaning that to accommodate either in the Playing XI, Shubman Gill will have to move up. But that said, it is unlikely the Indian management will change Gill’s position after starring in the No.4 position.

If natural No.3 options are taken into consideration, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane could be thrown a career lifeline. Like Iyer and Sarafraz, Rahane is also not a natural No.3, so his return looks unlikely, while Pujara’s return will depend on factors like age, injury and long-term availability.

It also won’t be surprising if the Indian team management decides to give Abhimanyu Easwaran a debut cap during the West Indies series in October and try him at No.3, having travelled with the squad for the entire Australia and England tour without getting any game time.