“Were we just wasting time with Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair?” - Ex-Indian cricketer grills Gautam Gambhir over India’s No.3 Test spot

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has questioned the Indian team management, including the head coach Gautam Gambhir, for constantly changing goalposts after every series.

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Speaking exclusively on JioHotstar, Chopra asserted that the No.3 spot in the Indian Test team seems to be changing with every series. While India tried Karun Nair on the England tour, they later switched to Sai Sudharsan in the West Indies series and to Washington Sundar in the South Africa series, raising serious concerns among the Indian cricketing fraternity. 

"Washington Sundar has presented himself as a phenomenal option who can bat at the top of the order, and of course, is a more than handy bowler. The bigger question that Gautam and the team management need to answer is ‘Are we going to keep changing goalposts after every series?’" Aakash Chopra said to the press during a JioStar media day.

"You're well within your rights to go with Washington, but if Washi is your long term choice, then were we just wasting time with Sai Sudharsan or even Karun Nair to bat at 3?" questioned Chopra.

Furthermore, Chopra emphasized that the top 5 players in the line-up should be pure batters. He questioned Gambhir on what exact message he would give to Sudharsan, who batted well against the West Indies and got dropped. 

"You would first want to prioritise the batting capabilities, not only the skill but also the temperament and the patience and the ability to bat time. That is why you look for the purest specialists who have only one job to do. Your top 4 or 5 are there just to bat and nothing else,” he added.

"If you choose Washington Sundar as a batter, fair enough, but it just feels like the last six or seven months were futile and you didn't really gain anything from it. What message do you give to Sai Sudharsan that we gave you a chance, you scored the runs, but we had a change of heart. Transition gives you the chance to experiment, but what makes it easier is clarity and consistency,” he concluded.

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