Sai Sudharsan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Sai Sudharsan

• Sai Sudharsan is an Indian cricketer who is famous for his striking abilities. He scored many runs for Tamil Nadu in various domestic tournaments in India. He represented Lyca Kovai Kings in the Tamil Nadu Premier League and Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.

• He was interested in cricket since childhood and used to play with a tennis ball on the ground where his father practised running. He initially played with his brother.

  

• He showed a glimpse of his talent when he got selected for the Tamil Nadu Under-14 team and later for the Tamil Nadu Under-16 and Tamil Nadu Under-19 teams.
  

  

  

• In 2017, he represented Triplicane Friends United Cricket Club (TFUCC) in the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) third division.

• In 2019, he played in Vijay Merchant and Vinnoo Mankad tournaments in which he made two centuries.

• He represented India A team in the 2019 U-19 Challenger series where he played against Nepal and two other Indian teams.

• In 2019, Chepauk Super Gillies acquired him for the 2019 Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL); however, he did not play any match for them.

• In the 2018 and 2019 seasons, he represented Alwarpet CC in the TNCA’s first division. He was the highest runscorer in the 2019-20 Rajah of Palayampatti Shield Trophy with 635 runs at an average of 52.92.

• In 2020, Lyca Kovai Kings (LKK) acquired him, and he announced his arrival to the TNPL with a stylish knock of 87 runs off 43 balls against Salem Spartans.

  

• In the 2021 TNPL season, he was the highest runscorer with 358 runs in 8 matches at an average of 71.60 and a strike rate of 143.77.

• His batting in TNPL 2021 season impressed the Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin who took to Twitter to request Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) to include him in the Tamil Nadu team.

• On 4 April 2021, he played his debut T20 match for Tamil Nadu against Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021 and scored 35 runs. He helped his team to win the tournament.

  

• On 8 December 2021, he played his debut ODI match for Tamil Nadu against Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and made 24 runs.

• Gujarat Titans acquired him for Rs 20 lakhs during the 2022 IPL mega-auction. On 8 April 2022, he played his debut IPL match against Punjab Kings and made 35 runs. He played 5 matches in the 2022 IPL and scored 145 runs at an average of 36.25 and a strike rate of 127.19 with a half-century against Punjab Kings.

  

• In 2022, he represented Jolly Rovers Cricket Club in the TNCA senior division and became the highest runscorer with 1003 runs in 9 matches (13 innings) at an average of 91.18 which included 4 centuries and 5 half-centuries in the 2022-23 Rajah of Palayampatti Shield Trophy.

• On 13 December 2022, he played his debut test for Tamil Nadu against Hyderabad in the 2022 Ranji Trophy season and made 179 and 42 runs in the first and second innings respectively.

• He was appointed as vice-captain of Tamil Nadu in his debut season.

• In the 2022-23 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he was the third-highest runscorer with 610 runs in 8 matches at an average of 76.25 and a strike rate of 111.92.

• He was the most expensive player in the 2023 auction for TNPL as Lyca Kovai Kings acquired him for Rs 21.60 lakhs which was more than his IPL purse of Rs 20 lakhs.

• In IPL 2023 match against Delhi Capitals, he scored 62 runs off 48 balls which helped Gujarat Titans to win the match. He won his first Man of the Match award for his batting performance.

• Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya said in the post-match conference that Sai worked hard during the nets. He said,
  

  He (Sai Sudharsan) has been batting terrifically. Credit to the support staff and to him as well. The amount of batting he’s done in the last 15 days, all the result you see is all his hard work. Going forward, if I’m not wrong, in two years, he’ll do something great for franchise cricket and eventually for India cricket as well.” ^[2]Hindustan Times

• Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar said in an interview that Sai’s temperament is world-class, and he has all the qualities to become a top player. He said,
  

  What you saw with Sai Sudharsan, even in the previous game, is confidence. Yes, he played a few games in the IPL last year. He got a few opportunities, he played a couple of good 30-plus innings. It tells you he is ready for bigger challenges. He has got to not think now that he has done it. He has got to say to himself that there are steps to be taken before he reaches the very top level. But he has got all the makings. He is a top fielder as well, which is always a plus. It was his temperament that shone through. I have always believed that it’s the temperament that separates the men from the boys. He has all the potential to become a top player soon.” ^[3]India Today

• His mother Usha Bharadwaj said in an interview that Sai used to watch Virat Kohli’s videos which inspired him to work on his fitness. She said that he trained very hard under her as she is a strength and conditioning coach for 20 years. ^[4]Jansatta

• In an interview, Sai said that his parents instilled the value of discipline in him and always told him to become mentally strong. He said that they told him to score maximum runs in every match he plays.

  

• He said in an interview that had he not become a cricketer, he would have been a singer.

• He likes to eat at restaurants and play games on PlayStation to relax from cricket.

• He made a world record-opening partnership in List A cricket on 21 November 2022 during the match against Arunachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He scored 154 runs off 102 balls which included 19 fours and 2 sixes with his fellow Tamil Nadu opener Narayan Jagadeesan who scored 277 runs off 144 balls which included 25 fours and 15 sixes. They put together a partnership of 416 runs which is the highest partnership in List A matches across the world. Tamil Nadu scored 506 runs for 2 wickets in the match which is the highest total in List A matches across the world. ^[5]CNBC TV18 ^[6]Sportstar

• He said in an interview that he has a close bond with Tamil Nadu cricketer Washington Sundar as he was impressed with Sundar’s career progression. He also revealed that Sundar consoled him after a defeat.

• After watching his performances in different leagues and tournaments, M Venkataramana, Tamil Nadu coach, praised his work ethic and the ability to bat for longer durations. He said,
  

  He is talented, has a wide range of strokes and has worked hard. Sai (Sudharsan) is a good athlete and works hard on his game. It is good to see him keep improving. He has a good range of shots and has the ability to bat long once he settles down, which is a nice quality.” ^[7]The Times of India

  R Prasanna, Tamil Nadu Assistant Coach, said that he was happy with his performance as he noticed his run-scoring ability during Sai’s Under-16 days. He said,

  I saw him at an under-16 camp. I noticed he had the talent to score runs. Like all boys at that age, he was a playful lad and did not appear too focused on fielding, fitness, etc. But he has changed phenomenally over the years. He has had the run-scoring knack and has worked hard to get the results. I am so happy for him. He just kept getting better and the TNPL was a good platform for him to show the talent he had and catapulted him to the TN teams (white ball and red ball).” ^[8]The Times of India

• On his ODI debut against South Africa, he scored his first ODI fifty with 55 runs (not out) in 43 balls.