CHENNAI: The last few months haven't been easy for B Sai Sudharsan. The India batter suffered a foot injury to miss the Sri Lanka tour, where Devdutt Padikkal scored two centuries, and now is in Puducherry, turning out for India A against Australia A in Puducherry.
Unfazed by the competition for the New Zealand tour, the Chennai batter is confident of his abilities and is keen to put in the hard yards and earn his spot in the Indian Test team.
"It feels really good to be coming back after injury and playing competitive cricket. I am enjoying my outing against Australia 'A' team and working hard on my game. Lot of hard work has gone into my recovery and playing again. It's been some two-and-a-half months, I think, off the sport. I prepared very well, worked hard on the body and stuff. It was a great experience,'' Sai Sudarshan told TNIE after the day's play on Wednesday.
"I was out due to a stress reaction on my foot. Now, it's better. The phase I was out due to injury was not difficult, sir. I think we as players understand that injuries are part and parcel of the game. We all (players) experience everything (injuries) and with every experience I try to improve my work ethic and keep improving the quality of my game. So I feel it (injury layoff) was definitely not frustrating or disappointing. I am looking forward to playing more and doing well for the country," he explained.
After the two four-day games against Australia A, the Tamil Nadu batter will feature in the 50-over games against the same team in Puducherry. While he admitted that it takes time to shift formats, Sai Sudharsan said he is used to it by now having played in the Indian Premier League. "I feel that constantly doing that (adapting, IPL to red-ball, SMAT to Ranji) helps us to understand what are the important things we have to do when we come from IPL, or when we come from any white-ball tournament or red-ball tournament. If you see all the games in the international calendar, we'll be quickly changing from white to red, red to white. So I feel we have to understand as a batter to know what is important for our red ball and white ball batting and adapt and adjust fast," he said.
The 24-year-old has been constantly upskilling himself since breaking into the IPL with Gujarat Titans. Asked about the work he put in, Sai Sudharsan said it was about overall tactical development as a cricketer. "Its not something very specific about batting alone, but more about tactical approach on how we can disturb the bowler, how we can put pressure back on the bowler, and just make him feel that if we miss, we will try and execute it and put the pressure back. I'm working more on that and just fine-tuning the technique as much as possible," revealed the youngster.
From the time he entered the Indian set up, head coach Gautam Gambhir has been backing Sai Sudharsan and the youngster credits the former India captain for his learning as well. "Gambhir sir's mindset is unbelievable. He's very, very mentally strong. The way he looks at any game is like a battle that we must win. The mindset is very patriotic first of all. Maybe, you can take that learning. He's also spoken a lot about what it takes to win when the chips are down," the 24-year-old said.
The lanky left-hander, over time, has built a routine of his own and how he trains, especially when in Chennai. ''When I am in the city, I practice at Coaching Beyond. I bat a lot, maybe for five hours one day and two hours the next. The day after, again, I will bat for five hours. If I'm back home, I'll bat a lot,'' said Sai Sudharsan sipping tea in front of the pavilion at CAP grounds.
Though the conditions in Puducherry might not be similar to that of New Zealand, Sai Sudharsan has his own method of preparation ahead of a series if he gets selected. "To understand (New Zealand conditions), first of all, the team will go a few days early. So we'll go early and understand how the wickets are. In case I get selected, it will be the first time in New Zealand, so probably I will watch a lot of matches of how our Indian legends have played there. So we'll have some cues," he said, before adding, "My county experience will come in handy for sure. I think the county stint will definitely help because, according to what I know till now, it's (New Zealand) a little similar to what is in England, like how the ball or the conditions will behave."
The youngster believes everyone has their own story and his one is waiting to be written. "I think everybody has their own story. I'm not looking at any competition, or I'm not looking at anybody as a competitor. It's all about me getting better. It's all about me playing at my best and making the team win. If I do that, I think, I'll have a fantastic story," he said.