India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Friday stated that Sai Sudharsan has not been given a fair opportunity at the Number 3 batting position and indicated that the left-hander will be preferred over Devdutt Padikkal in the Test format ahead of the one-off match against Afghanistan in Mullanpur.
"Sai (Sudharsan) has not got a fair chance. He has mostly played in England and I believe he needs a fair chance. We can only pick 11 players and he is performing well enough to be on the field. He scored 700 runs in the IPL. If we judge him on the basis of four or five games, we will never be able to build something," Gambhir said.
Gambhir also revealed that the team will prepare four spinners for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka in August. With Manav Suthar and Harsh Dubey competing for a left-arm spinner spot, Gambhir emphasized the need to develop multiple spin options for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka, while confirming that Ravindra Jadeja remains an integral part of the squad.
"Manav and Harsh are to a certain extent similar but also different in terms of release points. This match gives us a chance to determine our fourth spinner as we will take four spinners to Sri Lanka," he said.
Looking ahead, Gambhir added, "We will need to prepare differently when we go to New Zealand. So, we will pull out a few ODI regulars who play Tests. We understand we need to prepare better for Tests."
