“He is not a No.3 player in my book” - Sanjay Manjrekar wants a young Indian player to bat at No.3

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has stated that he would like to see Sai Sudharsan back at the No.3 batting slot in the third Test against England at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

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Interestingly, India brought in Karun Nair at the No.3 position, axing Sudharsan from the XI for the Birmingham Test. However, Nair didn’t live up to expectations, scoring 31 and 26 runs in both innings.

Having made his return to the longest format of the game after eight long years, Nair could score only 77 runs in four innings in the ongoing England tour, including a duck. On the other hand, Sudharsan scored a duck and 30 runs in his debut Test in Leeds.

"There were some very interesting selections made in the last game which I didn't agree with. In the end a win can put a cover on those decisions. I thought Sai Sudharsan, after just one match, to be left out considering he is a young player that we are looking at the future. He played pretty okay in the second innings. I'd like to stick with him but this team management is not afraid to chop and change depending on the vibe," Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPN Cricinfo.

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"But I would like to see Sai Sudharsan at number three. Karun Nair is not a number three player in my book. It is unfair to drop him after one Test if everyone is getting big hundreds. I think Sai deserves that opportunity as well," he added.

Furthermore, Manjrekar reckoned that England’s plans to change their bowling attack will make the contest exciting. Interestingly, Jofra Archer has been recalled to the Test team after the gap of four long years and he has replaced Josh Tongue in the XI for the Lord’s Test.

"I'd like to see India being pragmatic and realistic about how good the team is. They've got to still be careful about their batting. Shubman Gill got these big hundreds and made sure that India could win the Test match. I'm just imagining him getting 103 and 104, and it would have been tough to win the Test. He has taken care of a lot of those issues. India need to make sure that the batting is in place. Perhaps a changed England attack will have more sharpness and potency," Manjrekar observed.

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