Sai Sudharsan seems to have been identified by India as the successor to Cheteshwar Pujara at number three in the Test batting lineup. However, it hasn’t quite been a smooth ride for the 24-year-old. He is averaging just 30.33 in the five Tests he has played thus far, scoring 273 runs with two half-centuries. He showed glimpses of his ability to play the long game when he scored 87 in 165 balls in the first innings of India’s first Test against the West Indies, which has thus far been his highest score in the format.
Sudharsan has now revealed what head coach Gautam Gambhir had told him during the nets sessions ahead of the Test in New Delhi. “To be honest, support was impeccable,” Sudharsan told reporters ahead of India A’s four-day match against South Africa A in Bengaluru. “I can give an anecdote. We were practicing in Feroz Shah Kotla (ahead of the 2nd Test against the West Indies).
“I was the last to nets, and GG sir (Gambhir) called me and said: ‘Don’t get desperate, you are here because of so many reasons, you are one of the best players in the country. So, do not think about any other things or do not think about whether I have to score runs in this game or what will happen or what not.’ He told me, ‘you will play’, and the way he told that to me gave me so much confidence and so much freedom,” said Sudharsan.
“I was trying to be more free, trying not to think about all the external factors and the magnitude, but when you hear it from the head coach, you suddenly get that freedom, the perspective and the environment change drastically.”
Learning to be versatile as KL Rahul
Sudharsan acknowledged the difficulty of batting at number three in Test cricket. However, he also said that he is only concerned with contributing to India’s overall success, regardless of which position he plays in.
“To be honest, while playing for India we have to be really ready for whichever spot we are playing. We have a great example in KL (Rahul) who has played in almost all the spots. But he is so versatile that I think we can learn from him that we have to be ready for all those challenges. But yeah I have played quite a lot in number 3 in the IPL, I played quite a lot of games in number 3 when I was young — the Under 14 and 16 age categories. So, I enjoy it as well,” he added.
