# Manjrekar Urges India To Retain Padikkal At No. 3 2026-08-16T04:41:00+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet (2 source reports) Sanjay Manjrekar has urged India to retain Devdutt Padikkal at No. 3 even after Sai Sudharsan returns from injury, according to Sports.ndtv.com. Manjrekar called Padikkal 'God sent' for the position after his performance on the opening day of the Galle Test against Sri Lanka. Padikkal was drafted into the playing XI after Sudharsan was ruled out of the series with a foot injury. He anchored India's innings, impressing with his composure. Manjrekar believes the left-hander has earned the right to keep his spot. ## Coverage - sports.ndtv.com - sports.ndtv.com (2) This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-16T05:16:41+00:00. Tags: Devdutt Padikkal, Galle Test, India cricket team, Sai Sudharsan, Sanjay Manjrekar, Sri Lanka cricket Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/manjrekar-urges-india-to-keep-padikkal-at-no-3-even-after-sudharsan-returns/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/manjrekar-urges-india-to-keep-padikkal-at-no-3-even-after-sudharsan-returns/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/