Sai Sudharsan has revealed that Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir has supported him in Test cricket. The southpaw broke into red-ball cricket during India’s tour of England for Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy
2025. During his maiden tour, he could score only 140 runs in six innings of three matches. Despite his miserable performances, the Indian team management continued its support for the youngster and gave him another chance in the home Test series against the West Indies. This time, he looked confident with his bat and scored 133 runs in three innings of two matches.
Recently, Sudharsan, in a recent chat with ESPNcricinfo, revealed that he was nervous during the second Test in Delhi. The 24-year-old said that it was coach Gautam Gambhir, who stepped up and gave him confidence. "The support has been impeccable. After the first game in Ahmedabad, we were practicing at the Feroz Shah Kotla nets. As always, I was the last to come out of the nets. GG [Gambhir] sir called me and said, 'You are not getting desperate. You are one of the best players in the country. So do not think about any of the other things. Don't think that you have to score runs in this game or what will happen if you don't’,” remarked the youngster.
Gautam Gambhir’s words gave confidence to Sai Sudharsan
Sudharsan also disclosed that Gambhir’s words gave him confidence and he became unfazed about external factors. “He told me ‘You will play.' The way he said that gave me so much confidence and freedom. I was trying to be more free and not think about external factors or the magnitude of things. But when you hear it from the head coach himself, the perspective and environment change drastically. That helped me express myself better as well. Even in that game [2nd Test], I wasn't in a mindset just to get runs, I was in a mindset to fight and win for the team, to dominate for the team,” added Sudharsan.
Gambhir’s words worked for Sudharsan as the latter chipped in with his 87-run innings in the first innings of the game. India’s next assignment is against South Africa at home from November 14. Sudharsan will look to be at his best in the two-match Test series to help his team win the competition.
