Now Reading: Aakash Chopra picks Devdutt Padikkal at No. 3 for Sri Lanka Test
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Aakash Chopra picks Devdutt Padikkal at No. 3 for Sri Lanka Test
The Story in Brief
The Story in Brief
Aakash Chopra has selected Devdutt Padikkal to replace injured Sai Sudharsan at No. 3 in his India XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka. Times Now reports that Sarfaraz Khan, who replaced Sudharsan in the squad, was left out of Chopra’s XI. Padikkal scored a century in a warm-up match against Sri Lanka XI and has played two Tests.
Chopra chose Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna as India’s pace attack, with Jasprit Bumrah ruled out by a knee injury. His XI includes three specialist spinners, Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar and Kuldeep Yadav. The Test begins in Galle on August 15. NDTV also reports a surprise omission in Ravichandran Ashwin’s proposed XI, but does not identify the senior player in the available report.
The Indian Opinion
The easy narrative is that Sudharsan’s injury automatically makes Sarfaraz the next choice, or that one warm-up century settles Padikkal’s case. Neither follows. Chopra has offered a selection view, not India’s confirmed XI, while Bumrah’s absence changes the balance between pace and spin. The useful test will be the official team sheet in Galle, especially whether India select three spinners and who bats at No. 3.
Sources (2): sports.ndtv.com, timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
Ashin Xavier: interesting
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