Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has opened up on the importance of the number three batter in the Test team. Chopra highlighted that both Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli flourished at the number four spot when Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara respectively, delivered at one drop.
The number three position is considered imperative in the red-ball format as it is a bridge between the openers and the middle order. The role of the number three batter is to play out the new ball along with the openers.
“No. 3 is important. It’s absolutely critical. Let me tell you a beautiful stat. In Sachin Tendulkar’s golden era in Tests, when he scored a lot of runs, it was coincidentally also Rahul Dravid’s best time in Test cricket. There were massive partnerships between Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, and both flourished,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“It was identical with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara. The best of Virat came with the best of Pujara. When the No. 3 does well, the No. 4 automatically starts doing well, provided there is a lot of quality there, as Tendulkar and Virat had. So No. 3 has been a problem area,” he added.
The renowned commentator said he won’t back Washington Sundar at number three position in Old Trafford, where the ball is known to move.
“I won’t vote in Washi’s favor at the moment because you are playing in England, and the next match is in Manchester, where the ball moves. Washi is a good batter, but is he our best No. 3 option? No. 3 is not an experimental position. It’s not a position where you would want to send an all-rounder,” he reasoned.
Meanwhile, Karun Nair hasn’t been able to deliver at number three position in the last two Test matches. Nair returned with scores of 40 and 14 in the third Test match as he once again failed to convert his start. The 33-year-old has scored 131 runs in three Test matches against England in this series at an average of 21.83. Chopra said he would give one more chance to Nair.
“I would say look at Karun Nair as his last chance. It’s good if he does well in this match, or else you can say that thirties and forties are not good enough, and then you move to either Sai Sudharsan or Abhimanyu Easwaran. You feel at times that you should go to Sai Sudharsan only because you played him the first match,” he said.
Chopra said he would back Sudharsan ahead of Easwaran as he was given his debut in the opening game of the series.
“With the same token, you think what Abhimanyu Easwaran has done wrong. You take him on every tour, but don’t play him even one match, and when you play, you shouldn’t write his obituary after just one match. So it is going to be a tough one. I would say play Karun Nair one more game, and if you don’t wish to play him, then go to Sai Sudharsan, because you had played him a match earlier,” Chopra elaborated.
The fourth Test match between England and India will be played at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, from July 23 onwards.
