Indin batter Sai Sudharsan has played five matches so far, scoring 273 runs at an average of 30.33 with two fifties.
While these numbers might seem underwhelming, the Tamil Nadu batter mentioned that head coach Gautam Gambhir has given him unwavering support to pursue his cricketing philosophy.
“To be honest, support was impeccable. I can give an anecdote. We were practising in Ferozsha Kotla (ahead of the 2nd Test against the West Indies).
“I was the last to nets, and GG sir called me and said: ‘Don’t get desperate, you are here because of so many reasons, you are one of the best players in the country.
“So, do not think about any other things or do not think about whether I have to score runs in this game or what will happen or what not. He told
me, “you will play, and the way he told that to me gave me so much confidence and so much freedom,” said Sudharsan.
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The left-hander explained how Gambhir’s words liberated him from the worry of not yet scoring a hundred.
“I was trying to be more free, trying not to think about all the external factors and the magnitude, but when you hear it from the head coach, you suddenly get that freedom, the perspective and the environment change drastically.”
Sudharsan will participate in two India A matches against South Africa A before the two-match home series against the Rainbow Nation later this month.
Sudharsan mentioned that his current focus is on the game against South Africa A. He views the two-match series as an excellent platform ahead of the matches against the senior Proteas side.
“India A matches are very important and we are lucky enough to have it just before the main series so that we take this as a big opportunity and build up really well and understand the conditions and obviously, plan accordingly for the series,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
