Sai Sudharsan rejects Shubman Gill's request to bat but confirmed to return in India's XI; Karun Nair won't be dropped

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

India captain Shubman Gill crossed Sai Sudharsan at one point in Old Trafford on Tuesday and asked: "Sai, nets?" When you are 1-2 down in the series and on the eve of the all-important fourth Test, your captain comes and asks whether you'd like to bat in the nets; generally, it's a no-brainer. You, of course, oblige. But not Sai Sudharsan. He rejected Shubman Gill's offer with a smile. India's Sai Sudharsan is se to be back in the XI in Manchester(AFP)
Gill wasn't offended by any means. He, in fact, knew that Sai Sudharsan would never bat on the eve of the match, for he had stopped doing that since this year's IPL. And Gill, his captain, even in the Gujarat Titans, knew this very well.
According to Cricbuzz, Sai Sudharsan, who loves to bat long hours in the nets in the lead-up to a match, showed tendencies of getting tired while batting for long in the middle during IPL 2024. The GT coaches observed this and told him to take it easy a day before the match, just to preserve energy.
The switch came a year later. Sai Sudharsan would go hard in the nets, train, sprint and bat for hours two days before the match but would spend the next day relaxing. He was even given an option to stay back at the hotel but the left-hander from Tamil Nadu chose not to. He would travel with the team to the ground, do some light jogging and stretches but avoid batting completely. The method worked wonders as Sai ended up as the leading run-scorer of IPL 2025, and since then, he has carried on with his practice of not batting at all on the eve of a match.
If Sai not batting on Tuesday didn't confirm his return to the India XI for the fourth Test in Manchester, him inspecting the pitch and doing shadow practice definitely did. This is another routine that Sai follows before a match. In order to get a feel of the centre, he walks up to the pitch, empty-handed and does shadow knocking. He did that twice on Tuesday -- once when the pitch was covered and the second time when the sun had peeped and the covers were taken off.
Sai Sudharsan confirmed to play in Manchester, Karun Nair won't be dropped
Sai made his debut in the series opener at Headingley. He was out for a duck in the first innings. In the second innings, he scored 30. It was, however, not enough to give him another chance in the second Test. That India changed the make-up of their side also contributed to Sai's exclusion from the XI.
In Manchester, India are likely to use the Headingley template because of injuries to Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy. India head coach Gautam Gambhir prefers multiple batting and bowling options. Considering India's long tail, Gambhir would not want to promote Washington Sundar to No. 7 in the absence of Nitish Reddy. That's where Sai Sudharsan, a specialist batter, comes into the mix.
This also means that Karun Nair is likely to get another opportunity in the XI despite six failures with the bat. But whether he would continue batting at No.3 or that spot would go to Sai, like in Headingley, remains to be seen.
Young pacer Anushul Kamboj is another player who is all but confirmed to get into the XI. He is set to make his debut in place of the injured Akash Deep.