20-year-old Sai Sudharsan created quite a buzz among fans when he played a brilliant second-fiddle innings of 35 runs from 30 balls against Punjab Kings helping Gujarat Titans chase down 190 at the Brabourne.
Batting at the number 3 on his IPL debut, Sudharsan was involved in a massive 101-run stand in 68 balls with opener Shubamn Gill that paved the platform for Rahul Tewatia to do a Tewatia as the left-hander smashed 12 runs off the last two balls to clinch a thriller for GT. Sudharsan stroked four classy boundaries and one gigantic sixer in his maiden IPL stay at the crease.
Fans are eager to learn more about Sai Sudharsan, a young sensation from Tamil Nadu. Here are some of the interesting facts about the youngster:
Sai Sudharsan first hogged the limelight in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) where he finished as the second leading run-scorer in the tournament, with 358 runs in eight innings at an average of 71.60 and strike rate of 143.77 helping his side, Lyca Kovai Kings, through to the Eliminator. His impressive show in the TNPL fetched Sudharsan List-A and T20 debuts for Tamil Nadu.
Sudharsan’s breakthrough innings was when he smashed 87 off 43 balls against a Salem Spartans attack led by G Periyaswamy, who is known as Tamil Nadu’s Malinga, and M Ashwin, the state’s premier legspinner.
Sai Sudharsan comes from a sporting family – his father, Bharadwaj, is an athlete who represented India at the South Asian (SAF) Games and his mother, Usha, represented Tamil Nadu in volleyball.
Sai Sudharsan opened the batting for India A alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Under-19 Challenger Trophy in 2019-20. Other youngsters who have now become IPL stars such as Tilak Varma, Ravi Bishnoi and Priyam Garg were all part of that tournament.
On his Syed Mushtaq Ali debut, Sudharsan plundered 35 off 19 balls against Maharashtra followed by a 31-ball 46 vs Kerala where he walloped the likes of legspinner Sudhesan Midhun and offspinner Jalaj Saxena.
He’s also a handy part-time leg-spinner.
