CHENNAI: Even as the India team left for Sri Lanka on Tuesday, the team management's wait for B Sai Sudharsan — who is in the BCCI Centre of Excellence going through his recovery process — continues. There was no sign of the No 3 batter with the team and support staff when the Shubman Gill-led side landed in Colombo.
The Tamil Nadu batter has been undergoing rehab at the CoE and is yet to return to full match fitness. And with ten days to go for the first Test, the team management and selectors will be hoping that he will get fit on time.
From the time the squad was announced, it was clear that the Tamil Nadu batter's availability was subject to fitness. If he does not join the team, the already injury-ridden India team will be dealt a massive blow. Jasprit Bumrah was already ruled out of the tour and Washington Sundar is set to miss the first Test. Now, all eyes will be on the No 3 batter for the next few days.
Sai Sudharsan was one of the few batters to have travelled with the India A team recently to Sri Lanka and even scored a century before getting injured. He has been backed by India head coach Gautam Gambhir for a while now. Even before the Afghanistan Test, Gambhir threw his weight behind the TN batter to come good at No 3. "Sai Sudharsan hasn’t got a fair chance. He played in England. We will give him a longer rope," Gambhir had said at the time.
If he gets ruled out, it would likely mean that Devdutt Padikkal will get a chance at No 3. But it remains to be seen how the Tamil Nadu batter recovers over the next few days. In the meantime, India will start training from Wednesday at NCC, Colombo before playing a three-day warm-up fixture from August 7.
It will be interesting to see what kind of role Padikkal gets in that match, especially considering the significance of the No 3 spot and the series. Having already lost to South Africa at home, India are under immense pressure to win both the matches in Sri Lanka before touring New Zealand later this year.
India squad: Gill (C), Rahul (VC), Jaiswal, Pant (WK), Sai Sudharsan*, Jurel (WK), Jadeja, Yadav, Suthar, Siraj, Prasidh, Brar, Padikkal, Jain, Nabi.
Fixtures: Aug 7-9: Warm-up match; Aug 15-19: 1st Test, Galle; Aug 23-27: 2nd Test, Colombo.
