CHENNAI: On September 1, B Sai Sudharsan was in Nottingham, playing for Surrey against the home team, Nottinghamshire, in county cricket. It was his second year in England with Surrey, but this time, it was different as he was batting predominately in the lower middle-order. Having scored a century (105) in the first innings, he would add another valuable 28 (second highest score of the innings) in the second as the contest ended in a draw.
About 36 hours after the match, the India batter is in Anantapur, getting ready for the opening round of the Duleep Trophy match between India C (his team) and D. He took a flight from England on Monday morning, and reached Anantapur 24 hours later via a cab ride from the Bengaluru airport — a busy 36 hours to say the least. Sai Sudharsan, however, is not one bit tired. “Grateful” is the word he uses.
“This is what we have been working so hard for, preparing to play cricket and these opportunities, I am grateful for it. That is how I look at it,” the 22-year-old tells this daily. “It was great this time (at Surrey). It is not new but this year I got used to it. There were more interactions with the players. I stayed alone in an apartment, taking care of myself.
It was a new experience. After the match, you come back to your apartment and you have a normal life. (As for batting at No. 6) It was not that different. When you open you have enough time, but No.6 means you will have to maintain a scoring rate and there are batting points in county, taking calculative risks, building partnerships with bowlers, the small experiences were really good.”
But it is not just the last three days. Sai Sudharsan has had a busy couple of months. After the Indian Premier League, the left-hander played first three matches of the TNCA first Division league for Jolly Rovers before leaving for Surrey. He played the match against Essex from June 30 to July 3, and then went to Zimbabwe where he made his T20I debut for India on July 7 before coming back home for the Tamil Nadu Premier League. He played seven matches and scored 238 runs as Lyca Kovai Kings fell short against Dindigul Dragons in the final on August 4.
Ask him how he has managed his training and workload, Sai Sudharsan turns the conversation towards constant preparation and recovery. “Recovery is key. Constant preparation and recovery. We play many games but we manage our body better and it will take care of itself. It’s just better sleep, good nutrition, systematic consistent training and recovery,” he says.
It was only after the TNPL Sai Sudharsan had a couple of weeks off.
During that time, he charted out the schedule till the Duleep Trophy while simultaneously working on getting ready for the long red-ball season ahead. “Before Surrey I knew this was coming they had named the Duleep Trophy team and I started planning and I already knew it, so I prepared accordingly.”
During the ten days he had, Sai Sudharsan would wake up at 5-5.30 in the morning, work on body and strength training from 6-7.30 am and then take to batting through the day at the Coaching Beyond Academy in Chennai. He would bat from 10-10.30 am till 1 pm, take a two-hour break and then bat again from 3-5.30 pm. “In those 10-12 days, I worked on my batting, body. I had time to prepare for upcoming games and Duleep Trophy. I worked more on my body and strength. Batting, I planned it in such a way that I bat the whole day,” said Sai Sudharsan.
In the last ten months, the Tamil Nadu batter has made his India debut in both the white-ball formats. Test cricket, meanwhile, remains the ultimate prize for any cricketer and Sai Sudharsan is no different. While the 22-year-old dreams of playing Test cricket for India, he is not focussing on that. He believes it comes as a byproduct when you give your best and help the team win.
“My personal goal is to help the team win whether it’s Duleep Trophy or any team you play for. Whenever we get to contribute and make a difference for the team that will eventually give byproduct of what everyone wants (India call-up). If you are giving your best for the team and winning trophy nothing like it,” said Sai Sudharsan whose first target is to win the Duleep Trophy before giving his best for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy.
“Obviously, to win Duleep Trophy, but Tamil Nadu is closer to heart, especially Ranji Trophy the way we prepare as a team, we will give our best to win the tournament. Personally, I would love to give everything to win. Last year (TN reached semifinals), I had an opportunity but I didn’t perform at my best. This year when I start I should give my best for the team,” he signed off.