Key Points

The focus tends to shift towards Sudharsan naturally, considering he is among the forerunners to feature in the number three spot for India. The 23-year-old who stands in contention for earning his maiden Test cap for India will have to bear the responsibility on his shoulders of filling a spot that Cheteshwar Pujara held.

Pujara offered stability at number three, making the spot his own while raising the bar with his robust performances. The baton was eventually passed down to the newly crowned Test captain, Shubman Gill.

While India is yet to confirm officially, the rumour mill has suggested Gill is expected to occupy the number four spot, which was up for grabs after batting maestro Virat Kohli retired from the format last month.

Sudharsan, known for his defensive craft, has put his skills on display in the last two days of India's training sessions in Beckenham while facing India's fast-bowling quartet of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Arshdeep Singh, according to Espncricinfo.

During the sessions, the young southpaw wasn't fluent throughout, as thick and faint outside edges flew towards the slip and gully region. India head coach Gautam Gambhir stood a couple of yards behind, observing Sudharsan's technique while maintaining his trademark arms-folded-across-the-chest stance.

During their shared conversations, Gambhir appeared to be offering some insights about his technique. Sudharsan was also spotted chatting with skipper Gill, possibly about the forward defensive technique.

India Squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

- ANI