Very special and surreal: Sai Sudharsan on getting maiden Test call-up
As he addressed the media ahead of Gujarat Titans' final league game against Chennai Super Kings, the Orange Cap holder looked visibly elated. 'Feels great, very special, and surreal also. Any young cricketer wants to play Tests for the country. That's the ultimate goal.'
The 23-year-old batter is 'grateful' to have Shubman Gill, his GT captain, double up as his Test skipper. 'I have seen him for the last four years — such a talented and skillful batter. He will bring laurels to the country. Very happy to play under him in my first Test series,' Sai Sudharsan said.
Sridharan Sriram, CSK's assistant bowling coach, heaped gushing praise on Sai Sudharsan. 'He (Sai Sudharsan) is an amazing player, no doubt about it. The way he has blossomed as a batter over the past 24 months is phenomenal. If you purely look at it from a Tamil Nadu point of view, it is great for our State that a boy of such calibre is coming up the ranks. Can't wait for him to make his Test debut and make our State and the country proud. I think he will end up as one of the best batters TN has had.'
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The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
It was clear that we were in England to create history: Sai Sudharsan
Tamil Nadu batter B. Sai Sudharsan recently made his Test debut against England. The 23-year-old showed good promise in tackling challenging conditions, even if the returns were middling. Earlier this year, he had a breakthrough performance in the IPL, finishing as the top scorer with 759 runs. In an exclusive chat with The Hindu, the left-handed batter spoke about the exciting Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the thrilling climax at The Oval where India won by six runs on the final morning to level the series (2-2), and much more. Excerpts: You have now played for India in all three formats. How was the feeling of making your Test debut? To be honest, the Test (debut) feeling was completely different. Yes, the white ball (debuts) were also very prestigious. But compared to those two debut games, when I was standing for the national anthem, it felt really special. And especially playing in England, a place I like, and I have played before... growing up, everyone used to say Test cricket is the ultimate, and I finally experienced it. It gives you that unbelievable feeling, or complete fulfilment, or satisfaction once the game finishes. It was an exciting series, with every match going to the last day... Shubman had recently said that 'this is not a young team but a gun team'. It was not just a punchline, and the thought process behind that was that everybody has come here doing so many good things, or is capable of doing a lot of good things. Right from the first team meeting, it was clear that we are here to create history. It would have been easy to say this is a young team, and we are here to learn. But the thought process when we entered the series was not that we were coming in like a new team, but that we had come here to dominate and win the series. Talk us through that exciting fifth Test at The Oval, especially when Joe Root and Harry Brook had a partnership going on the fourth day? We had our disappointments. We can see that they are playing well and they are coming closer to the target, and we had our moments. But that's the essence of Test cricket. We had done well on day one. On day two, we fought back, taking wickets. On day three, Washi (Washington Sundar) played a tremendous knock to give us a good finish. On day four, they had the best batting conditions. But we knew it was a matter of one wicket, which would open up the game. The way Brook was batting, we knew we would get a chance with him taking so many risks. They were England's best pair. They had good batters left, but they might not provide the same control these two did. So if we get one or two wickets, runs will dry up, it will be game-changing, and that's what happened. Akash Deep, Prasidh (Krishna) and (Mohammed) Siraj, playing in a wicket like that with just three fast bowlers, bowled their heart out in two innings. I could see on day four they were tired, but they kept on pushing, and because of their effort, we (stayed in the game) and got the rain break. So the bowlers were fresh the next morning. Wearing the India jersey in a Test series at England… it's a feeling I will never forget. Every moment, every session taught me something new. This win is special 🇮🇳🙏 — Sai Sudharsan (@sais_1509) August 4, 2025 How would you rate your performance? There are so many things to reflect on, so many improvements to make. Even if we have a great season, we will have areas for improvement. But if it is just an ok series like this, there are a lot of points to work on, whether it's the mindset or even from a run-making point of view. Were there any regrets in not converting those starts? Definitely, it was disappointing not to convert after getting those starts, and I should have made a big knock. It was one of the most significant learnings. Having got through the difficult phase, in India, you could open up and be aggressive. But, in England, you have to keep it tight and do what you did in the first hour. These are things I want to learn and structure my batting around. Another thing is to ensure you never miss an opportunity to score off a bad ball to put the pressure back on the bowler. There are layers to it, depending on the pitch and the kind of scoring options you have. So that idea and approach towards the innings, I want to improve on. You were dropped after the first Test. Were you concerned you might not get another chance? I was not thinking about it because Shubman (Gill) and all the support staff spoke to me and explained why I didn't play. They told it's not about what you did or what you can do. It's about the combination. Even before the first game, GG sir spoke to me for 5-10 minutes saying, 'you have reached here and you can win games for India as well. And you will get a long rope.' When you are playing away from India, it is sometimes difficult to get in the extra time (in nets). But the support staff helped me a lot with (Sitanshu) Kotak sir allowing me to leave early and train with the side-armers. Tendo (Ryan ten Doeschate) came with me every morning to have an overview of the session. These small things, I think, will make a big difference. What do you think Sai Sudharsan is writing down on the paper? 📸: JioHotstar — Sportstar (@sportstarweb) June 22, 2025 How important is that for you to spend quality time in the nets in terms of volume? Definitely, it is very crucial. It is all about repetition and familiarity. The more familiar I am with my batting and the conditions and movement of the ball, off the wicket, the more I bat, more the understanding and confidence I get. What are the technical adjustments you feel you can make to get better? There are a few things that I can improve on, like tracking the ball well and even timing the ball better. Those things will help me to be in a better position when the ball is swinging or seaming. I need to become more refined in these areas, which will help me face any difficult situation I may face in the future. Last year, you had surgery that kept you out for a few months, and then you bounced back strongly in the IPL, finishing as the highest run-getter. How would you assess yourself and the phase of your career? Sometimes it becomes a blessing in disguise because you get some time to prepare your body. So in those days, I felt blessed because I had that time before the IPL started. I worked well. There are so many small things which we can't focus on because we are playing regularly. I was able to address those things because I had time. I started preparing for the IPL as early as December, which helped me. It creates a structure for the next 10-15 years, and because I have a base or a structure, I can continue to build on that. There were some tough times, but coming out of that and having a good series in IPL and going to play in the Test cricket in England was special. Where do you feel you have improved in the last six months or so? To be honest, over a period of time, I don't feel there is a big difference in terms of my game. However, I think that my belief system and the clarity about what I want to do have become better. I feel that it is helping me express myself more freely.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Ex-AUS All-Rounder Includes 2 RR Stars In His List Of Top-3 Teenagers In World Cricket
Last Updated: Of those two teenagers, one is India's 14-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and the other one is 19-year-old South African batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius. Former all-rounder Kerry O'Keeffe, who played 24 Tests and two ODIs for Australia from January 1971 to August 1977, included two players from Rajasthan Royals' IPL 2025 squad in his list of top-three teenagers in world cricket. Of those two teenagers, one is India's 14-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and the other one is 19-year-old South African batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius. Pretorius was signed by Rajasthan Royals as a replacement for Nitish Rana, and the young left-handed wicketkeeper-batter played one match for the Sanju Samson-led side in the world's richest franchise cricket league this year. Overall, he has played two Tests and seven T20Is for the Proteas and has one century and one fifty to his name in Test cricket and one half-century in T20Is. Kerry was impressed with Pretorius's batting in the second T20I of the ongoing three-match series between South Africa and Australia. During the match played at Marrara Cricket Ground in Darwin on Tuesday (August 12), where the 19-year-old scored 10 runs from 10 balls, which included one six off Glenn Maxwell's batting, Kerry, while commentating, said, 'He asked me to name the best three teenagers in world cricket at the moment, and I had a look at a few of them, and I had Pretorius inside the trifecta behind Suryavanshi – the 14-year-old Indian – and Thomas Rew – the 17-year-old Englishman. When I watch tapes of Lhuan-dre Pretorius, I think he's inside the top three. When he's going, it's a sight." The third player in Kerry's list is 17-year-old English batter Thomas Rew. Rew has played four List A matches so far and has scored 181 runs. His batting average is 60.33, and his strike rate is 93.29. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
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