Sai Sudharsan, who ended his last Test with impressive knocks of 87 and 39, surprisingly didn’t feature in India’s XI for the Eden Gardens opener against South Africa. The team management opted for Dhruv Jurel instead, with Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir leaning heavily toward a bowling-dominant setup. India fielded four spinners, two pacers, and included two specialist wicketkeeper-batters, a selection strategy that immediately sparked lively debate across social media.

Sudharsan is India’s future choice at No. 3, stepping in after Cheteshwar Pujara’s departure. However, the recent selection decisions suggested that the team management has lost confidence in him.

Former India cricketer Dodda Ganesh didn’t hold back in his criticism of the move. “Why would you drop Sai Sudharsan? Makes no sense whatsoever,” was posted.

“The no 3 in the batting lineup is the most important slot in a test XI & India is playing musical chairs without a vision. Can’t believe this is happening at the test level. Should’ve given Sai Sudharsan these tests. You don’t need 4 spinners, no matter how much turn the pitch offers,” he wrote in another post on X.

At the toss, India captain Gill didn’t reveal the reason behind Sai’s exclusion. He remarked, “The only coin flip I seem destined to win might be in the WTC final. The pitch looks promising, and we’re hoping to find some movement early on and make good use of it. The atmosphere in the dressing room is fantastic; this Test group is extremely hungry and always eager to deliver whenever we take the field.”

“These two Tests are extremely important for us, and our hunger to perform is as strong as ever. The pitch appears solid and should play well for the first day or two. After that, we’re expecting it to offer some turn as the match progresses. Rishabh returns to the XI in place of Reddy from our previous game, and Axar also comes back into the lineup,” he added.