New Delhi: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri is impressed with Gujarat Titans opener Sai Sudharsan a lot. He has backed the left-hander to be included in India’s Test squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England away from home. For the unversed, the series, getting underway on June 20, also marks the start of the fourth edition of the World Test Championship (WTC).
India lost their previous Test series to Australia 1-3 despite winning the opening game of the five-match Test series in Perth. The loss also ended India’s hopes of qualifying for the WTC Final and there were calls for inclusion of fresh faces in the red-ball side. Coming back to Shastrt, he is looking at Sudharsan as an all-format player for India in future.
“I see this young man, Sai Sudharsan, for all formats of the game. He seems like a class player and my eyes would be on him certainly,” Shastri said while speaking to host Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review. “Being a left-hander in England, knowing English conditions, and just his technique, the way he plays, I think he’ll be top of the list for me from the outsiders wanting to get into this side,” he added.
Notably, Sudharsan has played in English conditions before when he turned out for Surrey in County Championship in 2023 and 2024. In five matches, he scored 281 runs with a century and fifty to his name. Overall, in 29 first-class matches, the southpaw has amassed 1957 runs at an average of 39.93 and notched up his maiden double-century in the Ranji Trophy last season.
