When Cheteshwar Pujara watches India and Sri Lanka walk out at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Sunday, one of his first memories of the venue is likely to be his unbeaten 145 in 2015.Pujara carried his bat through India’s first innings on a surprisingly seaming track, helping them beat Sri Lanka by 117 runs and win the series 2-1.“I’ve got fond memories of playing at SSC but in 2015, it was a different situation. We were playing on a surprisingly seaming track in Sri Lanka, which you hardly get to see there,” Pujara said in an interaction.As a former India No. 3, Pujara was impressed by Devdutt Padikkal’s performance in the first Test. But he believes Padikkal needs to sustain that form before being considered a long-term solution at No. 3.“Devdutt was ready for this opportunity, looking at the way he has been performing in domestic cricket and the IPL. We’ve seen that he has worked on his game and improved his technique,” Pujara said.“I would agree that India should go ahead with Padikkal at No. 3 for some time. But you can’t leave someone like Sai Sudharsan out of India’s Test squad. I’m not saying he should bat at No. 3, but he should be there in the scheme of things.“If Padikkal performs consistently at No. 3 in New Zealand and against Australia at home, then he will cement his spot. Let’s not put too much pressure on him,” he said.
