IND vs SA 1st Test: Gautam Gambhir’s chat with Eden curator sparks buzz over India’s No. 3 plan

India coach Gautam Gambhir (AP Photo)

The Indian team have gathered in Kolkata for the first match of the two-Test home series against South Africa, which begins on Friday. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill, along with a few players who were part of the T20I series in Australia last week, travelled straight to the city without a day's rest and then joined the optional training session on Tuesday. Other participants included Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah.

According to a report in RevSportz, Gambhir arrived at the ground first and went straight to the center to check the pitch with bowling coach Morne Morkel and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak. The trio took a close look at the surface for almost ten minutes, following which Gambhir was seen having a lengthy conversation with pitch curator Sujan Mukherjee.

Meanwhile, at the practice nets, Gill, Jaiswal, and Sudharshan began their batting routine. Before Gambhir joined in, the Tamil Nadu batsman had a lengthy throwdown session at the centre wicket. It indicates India will continue to operate Sudharshan at No. 3 for the Kolkata Test.

Since making his England tour debut, he has amassed 273 runs at an average of 30.33 in nine innings, all at one down, which includes two fifties.

But the batter's position is under threat due to Dhruv Jurel's significant impact whenever offered an opportunity. After hitting his first Test century in the series against the West Indies last month, the wicketkeeper-batter went on to score two consecutive undefeated hundreds for India A in the second unofficial Test against South Africa A in Bengaluru.

Gill batted in the nets for nearly two hours receiving throwdowns, following which he faced the fast bowlers. Conversely, Jaiswal, who had just scored a century in the Ranji Trophy last week, took on the pacers before going to the next net to take on Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja. All this happened under a close supervision by Gambhir.

It was a mild training session for Jasprit Bumrah, who returned to the dressing room after warming up for thirty minutes and bowling off a brief run-up. Despite a strap on his right knee, he quickly went back to the center wicket for a short period of spot bowling while being watched by Morkel and Gambhir.