- By Namrata Vijay
- Wed, 25 Jun 2025 05:18 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs ENG: India's star batter Sai Sudharsan, who had a disappointing outing during his debut Test match, might give the second Test match, which would be held in Edgbaston a miss owing to a shoulder injury that he sustained while fielding, as per RevSportz. Things didn't go in his favor as he scored a duck and 30 runs during both innings.
The Shubman Gill-led side suffered a five-wicket loss during the first Test match as the hosts chased down the mammoth target of 371 runs during the fourth innings.
Sudharsan was seen having a hard time with a shoulder on the fifth day of the series opener and also didn't field and was thus replaced by Nitish Kumar Reddy as a substitute fielder. Reddy did take a stunning catch to help the team take the wicket of Ben Duckett, whereas Sudharsan was seen warming the bench.
“Sai Sudarshan is not completely fit for the next match right now. He seems to be in some problems on the last day during fielding. He has a slight problem with his shoulder," a report from RevSportz said.
The Indian team management might bring Karun Nair back to the No.3 position and thus bolster the lower middle order by including Nitish Kumar Reddy or might include an extra all-rounder or a bowler in the playing XI.
Sudharsan received his team India Test debut cap whereas veteran middle-order batter Nair made a comeback to team India's playing XI along with Shardul Thakur for the 1st Test match.
Team India captain Shubman Gill revealed at the time of the toss that Sudharsan would be batting at the No.3 position.
During the first innings, he came into bat when the visitors were reeling at 91/1, he was dismissed for a four-ball duck in Ben Stokes over. During the second innings, he came in to bat when the Men in Blue were 16/1 and had stitched a partnership of 66 runs for the second wicket with KL Rahul but then was dismissed by Stokes again.
Cheteshwar Pujara used to bat at this position and had set the bar but then India's new Test skipper Shubman Gill occupied this position.
One of Sai's qualities that had impressed the team selectors the most was his defensive approach.
And just in case if gives the second Test a miss due to his shoulder injury and Nair makes a brilliant comeback after a disappointing outing during the first Test match, he might be dropped from the playing XI of the Lord's Test and he is one game which wouldn't want to miss.