'Should not have let go of such an easy century': Ex-India captain raises questions over Sai Sudharsan's place in Test squad

Former India captain Kris Srikkanth believes that Sai Sudharsan's place in the Men in Blue's upcoming Test assignments shouldn't be a certainty. This comes after Sudharsan missed out on what would have been his maiden Test hundred and got dismissed for 87 against West Indies at the Arun Jaitley stadium in Delhi.

Sudharsan finished the West Indies Test series with 133 runs under his name from three innings and though his numbers weren't bad by any means, Srikkanth went on to highlight how important it was for the left-hand batter to get to his first-ever hundred in the format.

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“I still feel we should wait for some time. He played well, especially off the backfoot, but I wouldn’t say he should be a certainty over the next two to three series so easily. But he should not have let go of such an easy century. There is a big difference between 87, why even 99, to 100," Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel.

“Once you score that hundred, it’s a different level. 90s, 50s and 70s are of no use compared to a 100. Irrespective of how much you fail, everyone will only ask for the number of hundreds. That’s where Sai Sudharsan missed out," he added.

India's next Test assignment will be a two-match home series against South Africa that will commence from November 14. It remains to be seen whether Sudharsan will be picked for the series or not.

Srikkanth's big prediction on Jaiswal

Meanwhile, Srikkanth also backed Yashasvi Jaiswal to become India's next all-format player. The 23-year-old played a magnificent knock of 175 against West Indies in the second Test and is undoubtedly one of the best opening batters in red-ball cricket as of current.

“100% he (Jaiswal) is an all-three-format player, no two ways about it. In T20 his record is brilliant; in ODIs he will do very well, but he has not been given ample chances. His game is natural, and he plays his natural game without modifying it. He is even charging medium pacers and smashing them at times," Srikkanth stated.

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However, the left-hander is currently not an all-format player as he has only played one ODI so far and his last T20I appearance came in July, 2024. Test is the only format where Jaiswal is a regular in India's playing XI.