"Deserves to be in the playing 11 before Sai Sudharsan" - Former India batter's massive statement ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has said that Abhimanyu Easwaran has a larger claim on the vacant No.3 spot over Sai Sudharsan ahead of the first Test against England. With Shubman Gill moving down to the No.4 position after Virat Kohli's Test retirement, the team have a massive selection conundrum regarding their top order.

Since KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal are touted to open the batting, Team India are set to have a new name at No.3. The potential candidates for the role include the domestic cricket veteran Abhimanyu Easwaran, emerging newcomer Sai Sudharsan, and the returning Karun Nair. The latter might be considered for a role down the order, leaving the choices down to Easwaran and Sudharsan.

Several have backed the left-handed batter to translate his white-ball form into red-ball cricket after a blockbuster 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. He won the Orange Cap by scoring 759 runs in 15 matches at an average of 54.21 and a strike rate of 156.17. Sudharsan also made an impact in the Ranji Trophy prior to the IPL season, scoring 304 runs in three matches at an average of 76.

However, Kaif felt that Easwaran's imperious first-class record cannot be discounted, and he deserves to be higher than Sudharsan in the pecking order.

"Abhimanyu Easwaran deserves to be in the playing XI before Sai Sudarshan. Easwaran's 27 first-class hundreds, almost 8k FC runs need to be respected. By dropping Sarfraz, someone who scored runs for India A in England, selectors made a mistake. They shouldn't repeat it by keeping Easwaran out of Leeds Test," Kaif posted on his X account.

Easwaran was in the scheme of things when the team needed an opening batter in Rohit Sharma's absence ahead of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series opener in Perth. However, after the domestic veteran returned poor scores in the warm-up fixtures, KL Rahul was handed the role instead, and he made it count.

Leading India 'A' in England recently, Easwaran scored two fifties in two matches against the England Lions ahead of the five-match Test series.

"I think there is still discussion going on, who is going to play No.3" - Team India vice-captain Rishabh Pant

Team India are set to leave the decision regarding the No.3 quite late, potentially based on the conditions and how players fare in the final training sessions. Newly-appointed vice-captain Rishabh Pant revealed that the middle-order spots are locked in while the management continues to debate regarding the personnel for the crucial No.3 role.

"I think there is still discussion going on, who is going to play No.3. But definitely No.4 and No.5 are fixed. I think Shubman is going to bat at No.4 and I'm going to stick to No.5 as of now. And rest, we are going to keep on discussing about that," Pant said in a pre-match press conference ahead of the first Test (via ICC).

The Men in Blue will face England in the first Test of the series from Friday, June 20, onwards at Headingley, Leeds.