Abhishek Nayar says Delhi Test against West Indies will be crucial for Sai Sudharsan

Former Indian batting coach Abhishek Nayar reckons the second Test match against the West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi will be a crucial game for Sai Sudharsan. The left-hander was dismissed after scoring only seven runs in the first innings of the opening Test match at Ahmedabad.

Sudharsan has managed only 147 runs in four Test matches at an average of 21. Nayar believes questions will definitely be asked if the southpaw fails to deliver in the Delhi Test against the Windies.

There is no doubt that pressure will be building on Sudharsan as Dhruv Jurel scored a fine knock of 125 runs at Ahmedabad. Thus, once first-choice wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant returns to the Test squad, it would be difficult for Sudharsan to keep his place if he doesn’t score against the visitors.

“He won’t get a better opportunity than this. This will be a good pitch. There won’t be much bounce, the outfield will be fast, and the ground is small. Questions will definitely be asked if you don’t score runs against this team now, especially when Dhruv Jurel is playing in this team as a wicketkeeper-batter, and he scored a century,” Abhishek Nayar said on Star Sports show Game Plan.

“When Rishabh Pant returns, the one position in this team you can question is Sai Sudharsan’s position. So he knows he has to score runs and this inning will be extremely crucial for him,” Nayar observed.

Meanwhile, Nayar highlighted that Dhruv Jurel impressed with the way he scored his runs in the opening Test.

“Many batters score runs in India. However, everyone’s focus is on how you score runs, and Dhruv Jurel impressed everyone in this (last) match. The control and technique with which he scored runs give you confidence that he is born for this Test level of cricket,” he replied.

The second Test match between India and the West Indies will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi from Friday.