From Rahul Dravid to Cheteshwar Pujara to who now? India's No. 3 question remains unanswered

India have had steady options in Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara in the No. 3 spot over the years. That all-important role is in limbo during this transition period. In the three Tests in England, Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair have held the roles but not made it their own - just yet.

TimesofIndia.com in Manchester:

IND vs ENG: Team India's plan, practice schedule and weather forecast in Manchester

India's Sai Sudharsan arrives for a training session ahead of the fourth Test match between India and England in Beckenham, England. (PTI)

India at No. 3 vs England in 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy

1st Test: Sai Sudharsan - 0 and 30

2nd Test: Karun Nair - 31 and 26

3rd Test: Karun Nair - 40 and 14

Karun Nair during a nets session at Headingley in Leeds, England. He played at No. 6 spot in the first England vs India Test. (Getty Images)

A tad unlucky in Leeds, looked very good in Birmingham before the brain fade moment in the second innings of Lord's Test. Karun Nair's run in England has been a roller coaster so far and while he has looked good, albeit in patches, a substantial contribution is still awaited. Twice as No. 6 and then in the No. 3 position for the next four innings, Nair has been fluent but far from the domination you expect from someone in the crucial spot.No. 3 is a position which was occupied by legendary batters like Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara in the past and since the selectors started looking beyond the Saurashtra batter, there has been a musical chairs of sorts. Shubman Gill wanted to bat there. Rohit Sharma's decision to move up and down the order in Australia forced KL Rahul to drop from his opening spot to No. 3 and now with Gill dropping to No.4, the management again needs to find the right man to serve Indian cricket for a long time.It's a crucial position as we have seen in the past how a No.3 makes life easier for the man after. Rahul Dravid did that for Sachin Tendulkar; Cheteshwar Pujara did that for Virat Kohli and now Shubman Gill needs to decide who does it for him. The Indian team started with Sai Sudharsan but moved to Nair as the need for batting depth forced them to look at the Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar combination.End result: Four innings, three starts and one ugly dismissal.To be fair, Nair has looked his part but it's the management which needs to take that call on whether they see him doing the job for the ongoing World Test Championship cycle."Karun Nair has been getting brilliant 20s and 30s. But from a No. 3 batsman [batter] Dilip Vengsarkar used to get centuries. Three hundreds at Lord's, which I don't think any other Indian cricketer has done," says Farokh Engineer before giving a cue to Vengsarkar, who adds," you've got to pick the best player for the time being. Who's going to give you maximum… We want to win this series. Thinking of the future is one thing. But you've got to play your best XI. You are playing against a world-class side here."Engineer asserts why India must look at picking the best Playing XI to stay alive in the series, which they are currently trailing 1-2 after the heartbreak at Lord's. Both Vengsarkar and Engineer haven't seen much of Sai Sudharsan in whites and want India's No.3 to put runs on the board."We should pick the best XI. I haven't seen much of Sai Sudharsan. He's (Nair) scored beautiful 30 runs, beautiful cover drives and all that. But a beautiful 30 is not expected from a No. 3. You've got to get a not-so-beautiful 100. You need runs on the board. You need (to score) bigger… the expectation should be much higher," says Engineer.There is growing chatter around Sai's inclusion for the fourth Test at Old Trafford, starting July 23, but both Engineer and Vengsarkar have only seen him during the Indian Premier League. The two don't want age to be any criteria when these calls are made and stressed on the importance of winning a Test first."You're playing for your country. Your reputation is at stake. So, I would say, forget the age. If he's good, play him to win this Test match," says the 87-year-old Engineer.The Indian cricket team had a session in Beckenham on Thursday before they move base to Manchester on July 19. When the side regroups for the final two practice sessions preceding the Test, the tough call on the No. 3 needs to be taken. Now is the time to decide whether the think tank is confident in Nair converting the 30s into big ones. Or, they will look Sudharsan's way for a change of fortunes.

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