Sai Sudharsan finds himself at a curious crossroads in Indian cricket, where his performances make him impossible to ignore, yet leave no obvious answer as to where he truly belongs in the national setup.
In an age of aggressive innovation and power-hitting, Sai Sudharsan’s batting feels like a quiet rebellion. At 23, the left-hander doesn’t overpower bowlers; he outsmarts them. His method is meticulous, and his craft is rooted in classical technique. His batting style has seamlessly adjusted across the various formats, but in a sport that is increasingly looking for niche roles, that very quality has, paradoxically, complicated his rise.
Sai Sudharsan's ever-evolving domestic performances
A closer look at his first-class returns might not prompt immediate awe. An average of 39.93 in 29 games seems modest in the context of India’s deep red-ball talent pool, where several names boast stronger raw numbers.
But numbers in isolation don't tell the full story. His seven first-class centuries offer a better gauge of his promise. One of the most significant of those came during India A’s tour to Australia in 2024. On a challenging Mackay surface, with uneven bounce and considerable movement, India had been skittled for 107 in the first innings. Sai Sudharsan, one of just three batters to reach double digits, returned in the second innings to craft a measured 103 off 200 balls, It was an innings built on patience, judgement, and shot selection. Even against someone like Todd Murphy, who offered respite from the battery of Australia A quicks, he resisted the temptation to attack, instead using his feet smartly and neutralising the threat.
That wasn’t a one-off. Earlier that year, he had also impressed against England Lions at home, scoring 221 runs across four innings at an average of 55.25. Then, during another county stint with Surrey, his century against Nottinghamshire stood out for its control and clarity of purpose, especially in an innings where off-spinner Farhan Ahmed picked up seven wickets.
Since the 2023 first-class season, Sai Sudharsan has put up nine fifty-plus scores in 37 innings. Inconsistency has crept in occasionally, but the range he has shown against pace and spin, in India and overseas, marks him as one of the most technically assured red-ball batters in the country. It is no surprise, then, that Ravi Shastri, the former India head coach, has publicly endorsed him as someone who should be part of India’s squad for the England tour this summer.
His case for the white-ball formats is just as strong, perhaps even more so. In List A cricket, his average stands at a staggering 60.69, with a strike rate of 95.61. These are not just good numbers; they place him among the best in the world. In the 2022 Vijay Hazare Trophy, he piled up 610 runs at 76.25, scoring at 111.92, displaying the rarely seen ability of absorbing pressure early and accelerating late. His three-match ODI debut in South Africa in 2023 offered a small but promising glimpse of his temperament: 127 runs, two fifties, including a standout innings in tough conditions against a fired-up pace attack, as India were bundled out for 211.
In T20s, too, Sai Sudharsan has made steady strides. Initially pigeonholed as too classical for the shortest format, his numbers have grown increasingly difficult to ignore. Up until the 2022 IPL, he had scored 988 runs at an average close to 50 and a strike rate of 135.5. His six-hitting wasn’t headline-grabbing: 22 sixes in 28 innings and an average of 27 deliveries faced per innings suggested a decreasingly popular role as an anchor.
But the shift came in 2023. His six-hitting frequency more than doubled, and his strike rate ticked up to 145.7. His innings of 96 in the IPL final against Chennai Super Kings was his most complete display until then: not a slog-fest, but a composed, calculated knock. From 20 off 17 balls, he shifted gears effortlessly, finishing with six sixes and a strike rate of 204.
This year, he has surpassed prior performances, with 504 runs at a strike rate of 154.1, hitting as many as 16 sixes in just ten innings. Against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, he was batting with a control percentage of 100 after his first 20 balls, where he made 43 runs, highlighting how he is not just a batter who relies on slogging to get his runs.
The secret to his seamless movement across formats lies in his technical foundation. His bat comes down in a straight, clean arc. His base is stable, as he looks to time the ball rather than muscling it. His head rarely wobbles. Among the most important components of his game is his ability to play late, with a low backlift and excellent hand control. It allows him to adjust to whatever line and length is bowled at him. His wristwork against spin is subtle but highly effective, an aspect R Ashwin has also acknowledged.
Since the start of the 2024 IPL, among Indian batters to have faced at least 150 deliveries of spin, Sai Sudharsan’s strike rate of 159.4 ranks third, behind only Axar Patel and Rajat Patidar.
Where does Sudharsan fit in India's plans?
Still, for all the fluency, Sudharsan finds himself in danger of falling into what could be described as the Dawid Malan paradox - a player good enough across formats, yet never quite the obvious pick in any. Malan once stood atop as the highest-ranked batter in T20Is, and still, the sense lingered that he never truly belonged in a side full of flamboyance and swag.
His strike rate of 132.49 in 62 T20Is was never enough. He was soon labelled too traditional, a man out of step with a team that moved too fast.
In Tests, England chief selector Ed Smith had labelled Malan as an “overseas specialist” after a sublime century in Perth, one of the few bright spots in England’s dismal 2017/18 Ashes campaign. The tag limited him, reducing his Test career to 22 games across five years.
ODIs might have been where he truly excelled. But the format was shifting, and Malan’s classical style didn’t quite match England’s. He played just six matches between 2019 and 2021, and when he finally found form ahead of the 2023 World Cup, the team had already begun looking past him.
Sai Sudharsan now stands at a similar juncture. In red-ball cricket, the waiting list of players with strong numbers behind them is already long. In ODIs, there is calm and clarity in the Indian setup, with no evident gap to step into until 2027. And in T20Is, he doesn't seem to quite fit into India’s new blueprint of fearlessness.
But where Malan battled time, Sudharsan has it on his side. He is only 23, and there has already been evidence of transformation, especially in T20s. It shows the willingness to adapt and shift gears, ditching what he has known to embrace the new.
For now, it leaves Sudharsan on the outside, looking in. But with time on his side and a game built on substance more than style, he doesn’t need to rush.
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