Sai Sudharsan has also been in sensational form in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, racking up 456 runs thus far from nine matches with five half-centuries and a top score of 82. Young India batter Sai Sudharsan, who earned his maiden call-up to India’s red-ball squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England, has revealed that fellow Chennai cricketer Washington Sundar has been an inspiration to him since his youth.
Sai Sudharsan, a composed left-hander who may be handed his debut in the series beginning on Friday, 20 June, spoke of his admiration for Sundar in a heartfelt conversation shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Although only slightly younger than the versatile all-rounder, Sai Sudharsan said Washington has long been a source of inspiration.
Sai Sudharsan’s career -A glimpse
After the loss in the finals of the recently ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 ,in the built up to the future the Indian selectors decided to rest likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for the consequent ODI tour to South Africa .Under the captainship of KL Rahul one youngster who grabbed the eyeballs of the selectors was the prolific performer Sai Sudarshan. Sai Sudharsan in the absence of New Zealand’s star batter Kane Williamson played a vital role in the recently concluded IPL season 2023.
An elegant lefthander and Engineer Sai Sudharsan has been a prolific and consistent performer since his starting days at Tamil Nadu, only to increase his consistency batting at No 3 at the highest level. Through the consistent performances at domestic levels and TNPL, Sai Sudarsan was selected By Gujarat Titans in the IPL.
In the absence of injured Kane Williamson ,Sai Sudharsan came in as the impact player for Gujarat and then through the entire IPL season was effective at No 3 with te the bat at crucial junctures for his team .His career defining knock though came against Chennai Super Kings in the Final where he scored 96 runs in 47 balls .
Though Gujarat lost the final, this performance earned Sai Sudharsan a call to India A side where again at No 3 he scored 103 runs against Pakistan A to give India A a victory, thus continuing his form in the upcoming domestic season Sudharsan rightly grabbed the eyeballs of many players especially his own state teammate and the Indian offs pinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
An prolific left hander through his performances with he bat, Sai Sudharsan aims to play and represent India in the whites in the future and has opened his views on the same. Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri also insisted that Sai Sudharsan should be the perfect No 3 spot player for India in the English series.
Sai Sudharsan has been impressive- Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri said that India should consider picking Sai Sudharsan for their upcoming Test series against England. Shastri said that Sai Sudharsan could come in handy since he is accustomed to British conditions, having played in a couple of county seasons for Surrey. In 2023, Sai Sudharsan scored 116 runs from two matches at an average of 38.66. Last year, the southpaw racked up 165 runs from three games with a century against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has picked his new No. 3 batter while announcing his playing XI choice for the first Test against England, which begins at Headingley in Leeds, beginning June 20. The coach-turned-commentator believes that debutant Sai Sudharsan should play as the new number three in the series opener while backing skipper Shubman Gill to fill in the void created by Virat Kohli, who retired from Tests last month, at No. 4. Shastri stuck with Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul for the opening role.
Ravi Shastri told the ICC Review:
“It would be (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, and with him will be KL. Rahul, because I think this is a big tour for him. He’s the most experienced of the batsmen. He opened last time when India toured England, got a hundred, (and) had a good tour. So, I would hope for him to open the innings.”
“Three, I’ll go with the youngster, Sai Sudarshan. Whatever I’ve seen of him, he’s very impressive. This will be good exposure for him, this tour,” he added.
Ravi Shastri’s remarks came after Sudharsan won the IPL 2025 Orange Cap with 759 runs in 15 innings, including a century and six 50s for Gujarat Titans (GT). He also scored 527 runs in 12 innings for the Ahmedabad-based franchise in the 2024 season. In his first-class career, the southpaw has 1,957 runs in 49 innings, averaging 39.93 with the help of seven centuries and five fifties.
Shastri further picked Karun Nair, who recently smashed a double century against England Lions, at No. 5 while crediting him for his national comeback after an eight-year gap:
“In all probability, depending on what current form is, it’ll be Karun Nair. He bats at five, it’s a long time since he played for India. Six will be (Rishabh) Pant. I think he (Nair) has worked really hard. He’s just worked his way back into the side. The number of runs he’s got in first-last cricket is incredible.”
“And I met him during an IPL game. I said, ‘don’t just bang the door. Just kick it down and make your way in and walk into that side’. And I think he’s done just that. Just the number of runs that he’s got has made the selectors look in that direction and give him a place,” he added.
Shastri further picked all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur or Nitish Reddy, alongside fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and one between Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna, depending on the conditions.
“I would go with three fast bowlers, (plus) Shardul Thakur. “I know it’ll be a tough one between Shardul and Nitish Reddy, but you have to see who bowls how much. If Reddy is going to give you 12, 14 overs, then he might get the nod because of his batting.”
“And the three fast bowlers would be, I would go with Prasidh Krishna, I would go with Mohammed Siraj and of course Jasprit Bumrah. In Leeds, if it’s overcast and it’s cloudy, there might be the temptation of going with the left-armer Ashdeep Singh as well. So it will be Prasad, Prasidh Krishna/Arshdeep but the other two will be Siraj and Bumrah,” he added.
India’s tour of England is scheduled from June to August 2025, featuring five Test matches at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord’s (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London).
This series marks the beginning of a new chapter in Indian Test cricket, with Shubman Gill taking over as captain after the retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Gill leads a young Indian side through a transitional phase, aiming to maintain the team’s standing among the elite in the World Test Championship.
India’s Test squad for the England series: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav
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