Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer believes that Devdutt Padikkal should be given the opportunity to bat at number 3 for India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the upcoming first Test against Australia. With Shubman Gill out injured and Rohit Sharma unavailable, India had to make last-minute changes to the team.

Jaffer Picks Devdutt Padikkal For No.3 Position

According to many media reports, Padikkal has been included in the side following strong performances over the past few matches in domestic cricket as well as against India A. His composed displays against pace and bounce during the India A tour of Australia had impressed selectors quite often with a solid 88 in the second innings of the first match. Padikkal had earlier this year made his Test debut against England in Dharamsala and scored a valuable half-century as India thrashed the visitors.

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“I believe Padikkal should be played at No. 3, he has played Tests for India before and is familiar with that number. He has scored runs there and is also a left-handed batsman, so he deserves to play at No. 3,” Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo.

KL Rahul And Yashasvi Jaiswal As Opener

The India Test team had recently carried out match simulations against an India A team and fringe players at Perth’s WACA ground. After the session, Padikkal stayed with the senior squad while the rest of the India A team returned home.

“Also, I would play Rahul as an opener along with Jaiswal. Dhruv Jurel will also be in my playing XI, he is an in-form player. I would like to see him at No. 6 because he does not play much at No. 3,” he added.

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While Jaffer believes that Padikkal should be the one to bat at number 3 for Perth, going ahead with the game, since Shubman Gill will be out of the team considering his injury. However, talking about the other positions of batting, Jaffer does think that KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal should open, and he also supported the inclusion of Dhruv Jurel because of his outstanding performances against Australia A.