Last Updated: July 24, 2025 12:59 PM
Sai Sudarshan has caught everyone’s attention in the ongoing Test series between India and England.
Seeing his brilliant batting in the Manchester Test, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has openly praised him.
Ashwin clearly said that Sai Sudarshan should play at number 3 position, not Karun Nair.
Ashwin believes that sending Nair to number 3 was a wrong decision, which affected his mentality.
Ashwin said on his YouTube channel,
“Karun Nair has never batted at number 3 before. Suddenly sending him to this position disturbed his rhythm.”
Nair was tried at number 3 in the Birmingham and Lord’s Tests, but he could not do anything special.
The result was that he had to be dropped from the Manchester Test. On the other hand, Sai Sudarshan took advantage of the opportunity and scored 61 runs off 151 balls on the very first day.
Sudarshan’s explosive performance
Ashwin compared Sudarshan’s innings to legends like Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara.
He said, “Sudarshan showed amazing determination. His ability to leave the ball and the way he scored runs was amazing.”
Ashwin believes that Sudarshan has the ability to play for a long time at number 3. He said,
“Sudarshan should get a chance at this position to strengthen the team.”
However, Ashwin also pointed out a small flaw in Sudarshan’s technique.
He said, “The ball coming on the line of the stumps can trouble him initially. Shardul Thakur had dismissed him in the same way in the Ranji final.”
Still, Ashwin is very impressed with Sudarshan’s mental strength.
“It is not easy to play such a brilliant innings in your second Test. Sudarshan is technically and mentally prepared,” Ashwin said in praise.
Excitement of the series
India scored 264/4 on the first day of the Manchester Test, with Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur remaining unbeaten. But the biggest setback of the day was Rishabh Pant’s injury.
Pant was taken to the hospital by ambulance after suffering a leg injury. Now the fans and the team are waiting for his recovery.
