Why search for a solid No.3 continues in post-Cheteshwar Pujara era

The glaring absence of a figure synonymous with No.3 has indirectly influenced selections, pushing all-rounders up the pecking order above specialist bowlers. “You have to look at the balance of both batting and bowling to win a match. Just as it’s important to take 20 wickets, it’s equally crucial to post 550-600 runs,” India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak had said ahead of the final Test in England last year, indicating a subtle shift in the management’s psyche.

Kuldeep can partly blame the No.3 puzzle for fewer Test caps on his profile. Every time India have come close to a decisive solution in the last few seasons, the answer has slipped away.

The stiffer batting conditions perceived in the WTC reward swift remedies. But since Cheteshwar Pujara’s final Test appearance in June 2023, India are yet to glimpse their next great No.3, capable of matching the legacy left behind by Pujara and his predecessor, Rahul Dravid.

Dravid and Pujara’s solidity defined the idea of India’s one-down batter for 27 years. Together, they have amassed 42 percent (17,030) of all Test runs put by all No. 3 batters for India while appearing in 38 percent (230) of all Tests played by the country.

An able successor was perhaps delayed when Gill embraced the No. 4 spot after his captaincy elevation in 2025. The Punjab batter had initially taken over from Pujara in 2023 and held a reasonable record across 16 matches. Gill remains the only batter to score a century at No. 3 for India in the last three years, aggregating 972 runs in 29 innings at 37.38 with three hundreds.

Barring Gill, India have seen six other No.3 batters in the period, yielding 673 runs in 24 innings at a 28.04 average with four half-centuries. Three of them appeared in one Test each due to Gill’s injuries or poor form. The makeshift list includes former captain Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal and KL Rahul. During his short-lived Test comeback in England last year, Karun Nair gathered 111 runs in four innings at the position before losing his spot in the team.

Injuries and instability have also meant that Sai Sudharsan, India’s latest try-out in the position, will be halted for now after being ruled out of the Sri Lanka tour. The left-hander has played seven Tests at No. 3 since his debut, scoring 383 runs at 31.91. This includes an 87 against the West Indies at home last year and an 81 against Afghanistan this June, outside the WTC calendar. The Tamil Nadu batter’s run was far from straightforward. Five matches in, he was dropped for India’s four-spinners combination against South Africa in Kolkata last year.

Padikkal’s turn

With a century under his belt in India’s three-day practice game in Colombo, Padikkal is primed to take over from Sudharsan at No.3 this week, marking a second stint in the role after scoring 25 runs in his last Test in that position against Australia at Perth in November 2024.

He is arguably India’s next best hope to seize a long rope. The Karnataka batter has aggregated 1,152 runs at 57.6 with four centuries since 2024, building one of the stronger No.3 records in domestic cricket in the period.

The mystery swirling around erring No.3s in the WTC is not an intrinsic Indian conundrum but engulfs the entire Test cricket map. No specialist batting position has seen a greater decline in averages in the WTC era than the number 3 position. Across 234 matches since the start of the WTC in August 2019, the No.3s collectively average 33.25, a dip from a 38.64 average in the 234 Tests that preceded the WTC between February 2014 and July 2019.

In finding their next No.3, India will therefore value patience and temperament slightly above the instant gratification of quick runs, akin to Dravid and Pujara’s playbook.