'Who is going to bat at No.3?': India great raises questions over Sai Sudharsan's snub from 1st South Africa Test

Former India cricketer Anil Kumble was left surprised with the playing XI that the team chose for the first Test against South Africa. Notably, the Men in Blue decided to include six left-hand batters in the XI for the first time in their history and also decided to make a big change by bringing in Dhruv Jurel for Sai Sudharsan. The former was brought in as a specialist batter with the returning Rishabh Pant taking care of wicketkeeping duties.

India decided to play with four spin options and Washington Sundar's name was present on the No.3 spot on the team sheet. Kumble was not in agreement with this move and remarked that Sudharsan should have been included in the team and should have batted at the No.3 position.

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“Really surprised at the lineup because I certainly expected Sai Sudarshan to be playing in this Test match. Who’s going to bat at No.3? That will be the question. Washington Sundar has been slotted to bat at No.3 so India will be bowling first. 4 spinners and 2 fast bowlers,” Kumble said before the start of play on Day 1.

Kumble's take on India's bowling combination

Kumble further stated that there was no need for India to play four spinners as one of them will most likely not be utilised properly. He was expecting the team to go with a bowling combination of two pacers and three spinners.

“I certainly expected 3 spinners to play and 2 fast bowlers. So, that’s going to be a bit of a challenge. Day 1, the wicket is good. It’s not like you need 4 spinners and one of them will certainly get under-bowled. So, it’s going to be interesting to see how Shubman Gill uses his resources on Day 1. Of course, the 2 new ball bowlers will become that much more critical on day 1 for India,” he added.

Decent first session for India

Meanwhile, India managed to rack up three scalps in the opening session of the first day against South Africa. Though the visitors did make a strong start with openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton forming a robust 57-run stand, both of them ended up losing their wickets in quck succession soon after. Temba Bavuma was also dismissed cheaply for three runs by Kuldeep Yadav as the first session concluded with the Proteas on 105/3 with Wiaan Mulder unbeaten on 22 and Tony de Zorzi batting on 15.