Two weeks after he dazzled the cricketing world with his 96 in the IPL final, B Sai Sudharsan, urged by his parents, went to the stands at the stadium in Coimbatore to meet a dozen kids. Watched by his proud parents Bharadwaj and Usha, who also recorded the moment on her phone, Sai Sudharsan posed for selfies and gave autographs to the children who had just cheered his 45-ball 86 for Lyca Kovai Kings in the TNPL T20 tournament.
There is an air of new found confidence and calmness about Sudharsan. The confidence is understandable, especially after how he has fared across all formats in the domestic circuit, where he scored a century in Ranji Trophy debut, made three centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and scored a headline-grabbing 96 for Gujarat Titans in the IPL final against Chennai Super Kings.
“Personally, nothing has changed for me,” Sudharsan said. “I started doing my routines. But there are a lot of changes externally. I learnt a lot from this year’s IPL and I’m trying to work on it more and not focus on external things,” the 21-year-old says.
There is a New Zealand hand behind all this desire to work on his game, to improve his range of shots. While Sudharsan always had shots around the wicket, he is now adding switch-hits, paddle scoops to his repertoire after closely observing Kane Williamson.
Sensational knock from Sai!🤩#TNPL2023🏏#TNPLonstarsports#TNPLonfancode#NammaAatamAarambam💥#NammaOoruNammaGethu💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/i3orr44Qqp
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The Kiwi is one player that Sudharsan connects the most with, as he wants to juggle across formats without altering his game much.
“I relate with him [Williamson] because we have a similar style of play and do a similar role. I saw him practice and picked it up to explore shots. He plays all three formats and I want to get better in all formats, so learning from him is a big thing,” Sudharsan adds.
It wasn’t just the similar style though that clinched the deal but extraordinary warmth from the New Zealander. Even though he was hurt, while fielding, and was forced to go home for surgery, Williamson left one special message with the Gujarat Titans’s management: Tell Sai to contact me’.
“So even though he went back home, he was in regular touch with me, providing valuable feedback. He was telling me how to take the game deeper and how to maximise our abilities with our limitations,” Sudharsan says.
It wasn’t just Williamson; the Australian player Matthew Wade turned out to be another batting mentor. Especially, regarding the paddle-scoop shots – the weapon he used to help Australia win the 2021 T20 world cup final against Pakistan.
Wade, who is one of the best players of the scoops and ramps behind the wicket, would observe Sudharsan from behind the nets before suggesting minor tweaks to make the perfect connection.
“Wade helped me a lot on that aspect. He plays it really well. And it was he who showed me how to do it and why positioning is important. You have to be low to play the shot and your hands have to hit the ground when you fall. It is difficult for me to execute because I am tall. So getting low was challenging and although I didn’t touch the ground, I’m lower than when I started with,” Sudharsan said.
Despite playing five matches at the start of the tournament, the team combinations and Impact Player rule had Sudharsan warm the bench before he won his place back in the business end.
“I ended up playing dot balls and doing unwanted things. So it was more about game sense and tactical than technical. So I focussed on that,” Sudharsan says as to why he ended up missing games in between. So in the practice sessions that followed, he would go about finding a solution. “In practice, I tried to create situations with tight fields and practiced how to rotate singles off good balls and tight lengths so that when a bad ball is there, I could hit for a boundary.”
The coach Gary Kirsten would also guide him how to add more firepower to his T20 game. And with Williamson also showing how to go about it without altering his game much, Sudharsan is learning the art of batting at the death.
“It was something I worked a lot more through the tournament. I am still not good at it. It is more about ideas about how to get boundaries in death overs. It is more about perceptions of what the bowler is trying to do and to be one step ahead of them. We can be a bit more ready for the ball. It is more of positioning and ensuring it doesn’t break. My batting is more about timing so position has to be great from first over to the last,” Sudharsan says.
After getting the big break in the 2022 season of the IPL, on the back of a strong TNPL in 2021, Sudharsan had an impressive outing in the domestic circuit: three centuries in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, two in Ranji Trophy including on debut. Sudharsan owes the success he has had in the IPL to the domestic circuit, especially the Ranji Trophy, which allowed him to play in varied conditions and attacks. “I think the important thing is adaptation. We play in different conditions, states, climates. That is helping us in the IPL. We played in Delhi, Mumbai. It was easier during the IPL. Learning and playing domestic cricket has given us adaptability. Confidence of a decent season in domestic cricket helped in this year’s IPL,” Sudharsan says.
Then came the star performances in the IPL, and importantly learning from the senior foreign players. “It is a validation that I am on the right path for the work I am doing. I have a sense of belonging. When you start T20, there are doubts whether we can play, survive. Those doubts were nullified. Maybe my decision making has gotten better. Otherwise nothing has changed.” More selfies, more autographs, more congratulatory calls from New Zealand. All in a day’s work for a budding star.