India A’s recent First-Class series against South Africa at home did not bear fruitful results for the hosts in terms of their back-ups, with several key names in the selectors’ radar misfiring against the Proteas bowlers.
Barring Dhruv Jurel, who shone with twin centuries in the second game and improved his credentials as a specialist batter, several top-order batters vying for key positions in the Test side returned low scores. Former India selector Devang Gandhi also slammed the performances of players, including Abhimanyu Easwaran and Devdutt Padikkal, while lamenting the team’s poor bracket of back-up options in the long format.
Tamil Nadu batter Sai Sudharsan, who has had a lacklustre initiation to Test cricket, only managed 84 runs in four innings. Padikkal also endured a lean patch, scoring 6, 5, 5 and 24 in four innings while Bengal’s Easwaran bagged a pair.
However, Gandhi believes the left-hander will be persisted with at No. 3 even while Jurel is staking claim for a run in the side even without the wicket-keeping gloves.
“As of now, they should give Sudharsan a longer run because he is young. But all the selectors need to spread out and cover as many domestic games as possible. It’s clear that there is a dry pool of backup batters in the Test format. Sudharsan hasn’t cemented his place.
“Padikkal isn’t getting runs even for India ‘A’. Jurel has made a strong case, but there doesn’t seem to be a definite plan regarding his role. And there is no backup opener with Abhimanyu Easwaran inspiring little confidence. This domestic season and the one next year will be hard work for the selectors,” Gandhi told the Times of India.
Former India wicket-keeper Deep Dasgupta, however, remarked that Jurel could be the most suitable option to take over the No. 3 slot in the long run
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“At this moment, Jurel looks to have the best technique to bat at No. 3. But the team management has to be clear with its vision because No. 3 will be a big call. If Jurel is only seen as a wicketkeeping backup for Pant, then it will be a problem in the long run. It’s tough for a wicketkeeper to consistently keep wickets and bat at No. 3 in Tests. Or else, he can come in for Reddy at No. 7, even though it’s very low for a proper batter to come in,” Dasgupta told the Times of India.
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India will take on South Africa in the first Test starting Friday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. While KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant had mixed outings in the recent A game, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal shone in the Ranji Trophy for Mumbai in Rajasthan, smashing his 17th First-Class century.
