Despite their difficulties in England, Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara has trusted Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair to be successful at number three. Throughout the five Test matches, Nair and Sudharsan were both forced to bat at three. However, with only one fifty-plus score between them, the pair did not have any standout performances during the series.
Nair scored 111 runs from four innings at an average of 27.75 with a maximum score of 40, while Sudharsan scored 140 runs from three games at an average of 23.33. Pujara supported them to finish in third place despite their difficulties, stating that they require a little more time.
“Look, young players need a little time to mature. Sai Sudharsan has shown potential — he has performed once. Karun Nair has also performed. So gradually, as they gain experience, their game will keep improving. You can't expect every player to score two or three hundreds every time, especially since they are young players, so they need time. And this is a good phase the Indian team is going through — because it was a tough series, and managing to draw it 2-2 shows that every player contributed. So moving forward, this team will perform well,” Pujara told India Today.
Additionally, he stated that Indian cricket is in good hands and expressed confidence in coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill to lead the Indian Test squad to unprecedented heights.
“The team has won a lot of sessions. So if we talk only about this series, yes, it ended in a draw — but in my opinion, it’s nothing less than a win. This is a victory for the Indian team. Indian cricket is in the right hands, and the way all the young players are performing, it’s very promising,” he added.
After Mohammed Siraj's outstanding performance on Day 5 pulled victory out of the jaws of loss and helped India record its smallest victory margin in Test history by six runs, India was able to level the five-match series 2-2 in England. Shubman Gill's team is off to a strong start as captain. They will next play South Africa and the West Indies at home in October and November.
