भारत की red-ball कहानी में... एक ऐसा मोड़ आ गया है, जहाँ pitch से ज्यादा सवाल batting order पर खड़े हैं। Mullanpur में June 6 से Afghanistan के खिलाफ one-off Test शुरू होने वाला है, लेकिन Team India के dressing room में सबसे भारी सवाल अब भी वही है... number three पर कौन? Rohit Sharma - Hit Man और Virat Kohli - King Kohli के Test cricket से retirement के बाद India का top order नया चेहरा ले चुका है। Yashasvi Jaiswal और KL Rahul first-choice openers हैं। Shubman Gill number four पर settle होते दिख रहे हैं। लेकिन उनके ठीक ऊपर, number three की kursi अब तक किसी एक naam के naam nahi ho paayi. Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Karun Nair, aur even Washington Sundar... sabko kisi na kisi waqt is jagah par dekha gaya, lekin kahani abhi bhi adhoori hai. India ke assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate ne press conference me maan liya ki team is crucial spot ko better handle kar sakti thi. Unhone kaha ki is position par bahut changes hue hain, aur ye ideal nahi hai. Number three Test cricket me sirf ek batting slot nahi hota... ye poori innings ka darwaza hota hai. Agar opener jaldi out ho jaaye, to number three ko new ball ka zehar peena padta hai. Agar opening stand achchi ho, to usko innings ka tempo build karna padta hai. Isi liye ye role talent se zyada temperament maangta hai. Sai Sudharsan ke paas ab tak eleven Test innings ka experience hai at number three, jahan unhone 302 runs banaye hain, average 27.85 ke saath, aur two half-centuries bhi hain. Devdutt Padikkal domestic cricket me runs lekar aaye hain, lekin Test number three par unki sample size chhoti aur mixed rahi hai. Karun Nair ka naam bhi England phase me discussion me raha, jabki Washington Sundar ko South Africa ke against Kolkata Test me surprising promotion mila tha. Cricket selectors kabhi-kabhi puzzle solve karne ke chakkar me aur pieces table par gira dete hain... aur yahan wahi scene feel ho raha hai. Lekin ten Doeschate ne ek clear line bhi di. Jo bhi player ab choose hoga, use thoda rope diya jayega. Matlab ek Test ke bad turant panic button nahi dabaya jayega. Problem ye hai ki schedule bhi India ko easy answer nahi de raha. Afghanistan Test ke baad India ka next red-ball assignment August ke second half me Sri Lanka me hai, jahan sirf two Tests scheduled hain. Iska matlab continuity banana mushkil hai, aur World Test Championship table me India ke paas zyada experiment ka luxury bhi nahi hai. Is story ka doosरा layer IPL se Test cricket transition hai. India ke squad ke six members, including captain, IPL final ke sirf five days baad red-ball cricket me enter kar rahe hain. Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna aur Devdutt Padikkal jaise players late-night Twenty Twenty rhythm se nikal kar morning heat, red ball, longer spells aur Test patience ke zone me switch karenge. Ten Doeschate ne is process ko detoxing kaha. White-ball habits ko side par rakhna hoga. Bat shape, setup, shot selection, decision-making... sabko Test cricket ke hisaab se reset karna hoga. Ye kahani sirf Afghanistan Test ki nahi hai. Ye India ke next red-ball identity ki kahani hai. Number three ka jawab mil gaya, to Gill ke aas-paas batting structure stable ho sakta hai. Jawab phir unclear raha, to ye musical chair August tak khinch sakti hai. Mullanpur me ball jab pehli baar seam pakdegi, tab Afghanistan ke bowlers sirf stumps par attack nahi karenge... woh India ke naye Test blueprint ko bhi test karenge. Aur India ke liye sabse bada sawal wahi rahega... kya number three finally kisi ek naam ka ghar banega, ya phir ye kursi abhi aur kahaniyan likhwaayegi? आप सुन रहे थे Guru News Network, powered by द गुरु ज्ञान. Cricket ki har badi kahani, har tactical layer, aur har real update ke liye The Guru Gyan par connected rahiye... kyunki cricket sirf scorecard nahi, ek zinda kahani hai, aur द गुरु ज्ञान use dil se samajhta hai.

India's red-ball rebuild has reached a fascinating checkpoint before the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Mullanpur, starting June 6. On paper, this is a single Test match. In reality, it may become a defining audition for one of the most demanding positions in cricket: the number three spot. After the retirements of Rohit Sharma, the Hit Man, and Virat Kohli, King Kohli, India have been forced into a quiet but significant transition. Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul are now viewed as the first-choice openers. Shubman Gill has been placed at number four. But the space just above him has remained unsettled, almost like a door that refuses to close. Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Karun Nair, and even Washington Sundar have all touched that role in different moments, yet no one has fully owned it. Assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted that India could have handled the position better. His point was not dramatic, but it was sharp. There have been too many changes, and number three is too important a place to be treated like a rotating experiment. In Test cricket, number three is not merely a batting number. It is a responsibility. When an opener falls early, number three walks into the new ball's storm. When the openers survive, number three must shape the innings with authority and patience. That role demands judgement, courage, technique, and a calm mind when the scoreboard starts asking uncomfortable questions. Sai Sudharsan has played all his eleven Test innings at that position, scoring 302 runs at an average of 27.85 with two half-centuries. Devdutt Padikkal arrives with heavy domestic runs behind him, but his Test sample at number three remains small and uneven. Karun Nair has also been part of the conversation, while Washington Sundar's promotion against South Africa in Kolkata showed how far India had moved in search of an answer. Now, ten Doeschate has suggested that whoever gets the role next will be given a bit of rope. That matters. India do not just need a player at number three. They need trust, continuity, and a batter allowed to grow through pressure. The difficulty is the schedule. After this Afghanistan Test, India's next red-ball assignment arrives only in the second half of August, when they travel to Sri Lanka for two Tests. So the management has to make a choice, but the calendar does not offer a smooth path to build rhythm. The World Test Championship table adds another layer of urgency. India cannot afford endless bedding-in time. They need clarity, and they need it quickly. There is also the physical and mental switch from the Indian Premier League to Test cricket. Six members of the squad were involved in the IPL final only five days earlier, including the captain. Players such as Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, and Devdutt Padikkal must move from late-night Twenty Twenty intensity into the morning heat of red-ball discipline. Ten Doeschate called it detoxing, and that is exactly what it is. White-ball habits must be put away. Bat shape, setup, decision-making, and shot selection must return to Test rhythm. For India, the Afghanistan Test is therefore more than a fixture. It is a laboratory, a deadline, and perhaps the beginning of a new order. If the number three question finds a convincing answer in Mullanpur, India's batting structure can breathe easier around Gill. If it remains unresolved, the uncertainty may travel with them into Sri Lanka. So when the red ball begins to move, Afghanistan will not only be testing India's technique. They will be testing India's planning, patience, and faith in its next generation. You were listening to Guru News Network, powered by The Guru Gyan. For sharp cricket updates, clean match intelligence, and stories that go beyond the scoreboard, stay connected with The Guru Gyan, where cricket is not just followed, it is understood.