July 19, 2021. The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) match between Kovai Kings and Salem Spartans ended in a no-result because of rain. Amid rains lashing the Chepauk Stadium, the TNPL seemed to have unearthed a rough diamond in the form of B Sai Sudharsan. After all, at the tender age of 19, Sudarshan had swept, slogged and lofted M Ashwin to compile an impressive 43-ball 87. That sparkling innings caught the eye of another Ashwin – R Ashwin – who basically wanted Sudarshan to be selected for the Tamil Nadu side after he had played only one TNPL game.
From a kid who was said to be not good at handling pressure, to conquering inner demons by taking on a bowler of repute. Fast forward to IPL 2023. In the colosseum of the Narendra Modi Stadium, Sudharsan cracked a superlative 96, against Chennai Super Kings, in the league’s summit clash.
While watching Sudharsan construct his innings in the IPL final, it again seemed as if the word pressure was a small footnote in his dictionary. At the end of the 11th over, he seemed to be stuck in first gear, on a track that offered even bounce. Right at that juncture, one wondered whether the pressure of playing in an IPL final had got to the youngster. In the very next over, he cleared some of those doubts as he drove and steered Matheesha Pathirana to the boundary hoardings.
Soon, he revved up the engine and collected three fours and a six off Tushar Deshpande. On paper, all those shots seem like a mere stat. Scratch the surface a little bit, and you would have seen Sudharsan’s temperament and the conviction behind those shots shining through. Deshpande had started that over on the right note by watching the feet of the batter and spearing the ball in the channel outside off stump. It was just that Sudharsan was still brave enough to carry on with his initial plan of cracking the scoop.
The execution part didn’t go according to plan as Sudharsan edged one to the boundary hoardings. But he didn’t have any second thoughts about whether to continue with his initial plan of employing the scoop, or try Plan B. A couple of deliveries later, he blended instinct with batting smarts when he lifted one over the mid-on fielder. Sudharsan had seen that there was no protection in the deep through that region, and he duly executed a risk-free shot.
Subsequently, after Gujarat Titans succumbed to a gut-wrenching loss, Sudharsan’s reply to a question gave an indicator that he was willing to learn from his past mistakes and improve. “Last game, I felt a lot of pressure, and came to a realization that being more calmer is much better and I have the ability to do it,” he said. “I felt a bit more calmer this game.
“Regarding this game, when Shubman [Gill] got out, it was more of taking the game a little more deeper and even having a check on the scoreboard as well. I was trying to take the right chances and take the game deep as well.”
If we sift further through Sudharsan’s brief career so far, we can find more evidence of how he has come back stronger after failing at the initial hurdle. He made his List A debut in 2021-22 but could only aggregate 54 runs. That was followed by a stellar season, where he notched up his maiden List A hundred against Chhattisgarh and finished second in the Ranji Trophy batting charts for Tamil Nadu, behind Ranjan Paul.
On his IPL debut, against Punjab Kings, a couple of shots, especially a pull off Kagiso Rabada, provided a glimpse of his burgeoning potential. This year, he has used that maiden IPL season in 2022 as a launchpad to take his game to a higher level: 362 runs at an average 51.71. Over a period of time, he has also improved his fitness.
Sudarshan was bought by the Titans for just INR 20 lakhs in the 2022 IPL Auction, which turned out to be a bit less than his TNPL contract of INR 21.6 lakhs. On a day when the cricketing Gods smiled more on MS Dhoni and CSK, the consolation prize for the Gujarat camp was the realisation that their rough diamond has polished his skills, and looks all set to glitter for many more years.
Also Read: CSK’s Middle-Order Steel Eclipses Sensational Sudharsan