Sai Sudharsan, the Orange Cap holder of IPL 2025, now shifts his focus to red-ball cricket ahead of the England Tests.
Sai Sudharsan was grateful for the opportunity to have a brief county stint with Surrey, which helped him improve his 'basics' something he sees as a key aspect of Test cricket. He spoke ahead of his maiden call-up for India.
Sudharsan Turns Focus to Red-Ball Cricket
Sudharsan had a fantastic season at his helm, scoring 759 runs at an average of 54.21, with 6 fifties and 1 hundred, opening the batting alongside his captain, Shubman Gill. His last heroic knock of 80(49) went in vain, as Gujarat Titans fell short by 20 runs in their chase of 229 in 20 overs, leading to their elimination from the tournament.
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Now shifting his focus to red-ball cricket, Sudharsan reflected on his experience with Surrey. He played 7 first-class matches for them in two different stints over the last 2 years and shared how it improved his batting technique.
"I think I have played seven games in county cricket, so it gave me a great experience to be honest, it improved my batting multiple folds in terms of technique and in terms of basics to, it told me basics is the most important thing in batting.
"So, I think it should help me and I will focus more on what I learnt and I will try and be aware and create that awareness before going into the series," said Sudharsan.
When asked about adapting back to red-ball cricket after three months of white-ball cricket, he admitted it would take time but said he’s ready for the challenge and is looking forward to the time he gets to practice ahead of the England series.
"Definitely, after a long three months of white-ball tournament, certain things would have changed in your batting. I think focusing more on basics and bringing back those to red ball cricket will take some time, we will have some good time before the series starts.
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Trophy Miss Hurts, But Test and T20 Dreams Drive Sudharsan Forward
Meanwhile, despite having a good season with the bat in IPL 2025, he was disappointed not to win the trophy, which he sees as the ultimate prize for all his hard work.
“I mean it is good to see that I had a good season or I was consistent enough for my team, but I think when the job is not finished, you do not get that ultimate satisfaction when you get back to your home”.
Definitely, there is a lot of disappointment in the environment because the way we played the first 12 or 13 games, which was fantastic to see as a group or as a team from outside, even when you look at a season like this
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Later, he answered about his expectations, now making it to the T20 team for India. He said it's a dream to represent India in T20Is, but he feels there’s more room for improvement in his batting.
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"I mean playing for the country is obviously a dream for everybody, so I would love to do that, but I am not thinking on those lines because if you see about the season, I have a lot of things to improve as a T20 batter.
Sai Sudharsan will reportedly travel to England on June 4 with the team and is expected to play in the second multi-day Test against England Lions in Northampton.
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