An ill-timed injury had denied him a place in the Indian Test squad and a possible debut in the Dharamsala Test against England, where next-in-line Devdutt Padikkal was handed his maiden cap. However, Sai Sudharsan has possibly sparked a fresh headache for the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee and new head coach Gautam Gambhir with his maiden century in the County Championship for Surrey on Friday.
Batting at No. 6 against Nottinghamshire, Sudharsan scored 105 off 178 deliveries, laced with 10 boundaries and a solitary six as Surrey amassed 525 runs in the opening innings. The Tamil Nadu batter hit that only six in his knock to bring up the triple-figure mark.
Captain Rory Burns top-scored for Surrey with a 266-ball 161, while Ryan Patel, Will Jacks, and Jordan Clark hit their respective fifties. Farhan Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers for Nottinghamshire with his seven-wicket haul.
This was Sudharsan’s third appearance for Surrey. Earlier in 2023, an impressed Vikram Solanki, director of cricket at Gujarat Titans, who served as Surrey coach, helped the 22-year-old crack a deal with the County side. Although the stint comprised just two appearances, he did notch up a 73-run knock straightaway for Surrey.
The same year, he earned his debut international cap for India after appearing in the ODI tour of South Africa, where he scored two half-century knocks. Later in 2024, he was handed his debut T20I cap in the tour of Zimbabwe last month, although he did not get an opportunity to bat.
Sudharsan’s stellar rise comes on the back of two impressive IPL campaigns in 2022, 2023 and 2024, during which he became the fastest Indian batter to 1000 runs in the league, having reached the feat in just 25 innings, six less than Sachin Tendulkar and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Moreover, through the course, he showed remarkable improvement from being a spin-hitter to displaying his prowess against high pace.
Sudharsan set for Duleep Trophy appearance
Over six months back, Sudharsan was well on course to make a debut for India in Test cricket, when the selection committee wanted to reward the left-handed batter for his knock of a half-century and a ton for India A against England Lions. While injury denied him that opportunity back then, he would be raring to make the selectors scratch their heads when he appears in the Duleep Trophy next week. Sudharsan is part of Team C, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad. An impressive performance could see Sudharsan earn a spot in the Indian line-up for either of the upcoming home Test series against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
