Washington Sundar promoted to No. 3, Sai Sudharsan dropped for IND vs SA 1st Test; Sunil Gavaskar explains India's plans

Fans and experts were taken by surprise when Sai Sudharsan was left out of India's playing XI for the first Test against South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. With Sudarshan missing, India fielded four spinners - Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, three of them pure all-rounders.

Sai Sudharsan, who made his Test debut in England in June, has been in and out of the Indian side. His last appearance came against the West Indies at home, where he scored 87 in the first innings of the second Test.

In his absence, India have promoted Washington Sundar to bat at no 3, following openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. Captain Shubman Gill will bat at no 4. Sundar's maiden Test hundred on English soil earlier this year may have influenced the Indian management's decision to promote him.

Notably, Sundar has never batted inside the top four in Tests. His only hundred in the longest format came at no 5, while the left-hander also registered high scores of 85 not out and 96 not out batting at no 7 and no 8, respectively.

As speculation grew over Washington Sundar's elevation up the order, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar explained the team's reasoning in placing the Tamil Nadu all-rounder above Shubman Gill in the batting lineup. “Dhruv Jurel with his current form is undroppable,” Gavaskar said on air.

"Washington Sundar, I think, brings the left-hander angle. Sai Sudharsan at no. 3 was a left-hander. So in place of him, Washington Sundar will bat at no. 3," explained Gavaskar.

Meanwhile, Gill once again lost the toss to his South African counterpart, Temba Bavuma, who opted to bat first on a hard and dry surface in Kolkata. Both sides have made some changes: Kagiso Rabada missed out due to a rib injury, while India included Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Sudharsan, respectively.

India vs South Africa 1st Test playing XIs

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma(c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne(w), Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.