Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022-23: Sai Sudharsan emerged as the third-highest run-scorer (610) in 2022 edition of Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Bhardwaj Sai Sudharsan is one of the bright young talents going around in India, and he has already made heads turn towards him following superlative performances for his home state Tamil Nadu and in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) last season. The state league performances gave him a chance to be part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he featured for the eventual winners Gujarat Titans (GT).
How it started for the talented left-hander from southern state of Tamil Nadu?
Sai first gained a name for himself in the Tamil Nadu circuit through his performances in the 2019-20 Rajah of Palayampatti Shield. Representing the Alwarpet CC, he was the leading run-scorer with 635 runs at an average of 52.92. This helped him earn a call-up to the India U-19 squad for Challenger Trophy 2019.
Sai also earned a contract with the TNPL’s Chennai-based franchise Chepauk Super Gillies (CSG) but couldn’t get a game in his first season. The 2021 season saw him play for the Lyca Kovai Kings and in his maiden TNPL game, Sai showed his prowess as the youngster made an eye-catching 87 off just 43 deliveries. This earned him praise across the state and one among his admirers was the star India off-spinner and Tamil Nadu legend Ravichandran Ashwin.
The offie tweeted the following, appreciating the then 19-year-old’s brilliant knock in his debut game.
That knock was just the beginning for Sai, after which he just got better and in the process, joined the most challenging league in the world, the IPL.
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Good start to his IPL career
The 21-year-old from Chennai had a decent outing for the Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans in his maiden IPL, where he played 5 games scoring 145 runs at an average of 36.2 coming towards the fag end of the season. Sai Sudharshan looked like belonging to the highest league in terms of temperament and skill level.
This experience greatly bettered his game come the 2022-23 Indian domestic season where he represented Tamil Nadu in both Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) and Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT).
Stellar Vijay Hazare season for Tamil Nadu
In VHT 2022-23 that concluded just a few days ago, Sudharsan emerged as the 3rd highest run-getter in the tournament, behind his teammate Narayan Jagadeesan and Maharashtra skipper and opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad. The attractive left-hand batter amassed 610 runs from 8 innings he played in the season and those runs came at a healthy average of 76.25 and a strike rate of 111.92.
In this prolific season, Sai smashed 3 centuries and 2 half-centuries. Sai Sudarshan is yet to make his first-class debut and the upcoming Ranji season will show whether he has the penchant to score big runs and bat for longer periods of time.
Bright future ahead
Not only this, he can surely become an integral part and a great asset for any team that he will play for in the future including his IPL side, Gujarat Titans. Being a left-hander, Sai’s stock will definitely be on the rise, if he continues churning out good performances. To top it all, the left-hander is just 21-years old and there is plenty of cricket left in him.