Agarkar and Gambhir have a new source of headache after Shubman Gill’s IPL colleague scores a century ahead of the Duleep Trophy.
The Indian batter is scheduled to play in thy the e Duleep Trophy following week.
Due to an unfortunate injury, he was not able to make the Indian Test team or perhaps make his debut in the Dharamsala Test against England, where captain Devdutt Padikkal received his first cap. With his century in the County Championship for Surrey on Friday, Sai Sudharsan, however, may have caused additional problems for new head coach Gautam Gambhir and the selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar.
As Surrey reached 525 runs in the first innings, Sudharsan, batting at No. 6 against Nottinghamshire, hit 105 off 178 deliveries, studded with 10 boundaries and one six. The hitter from Tamil Nadu reached the triple-figure threshold with just one six in his innings.
With a 266-ball 161, captain Rory Burns top-scored for Surrey, followed by fifties from Ryan Patel, Will Jacks, and Jordan Clark. With his seven wickets, Farhan Ahmed was Nottinghamshire’s best bowler.
Sudharsan made his third appearance for Surrey in this match. Early in 2023, the 22-year-old was assisted in closing a deal with the County team by the impressive Vikram Solanki, director of cricket at Gujarat Titans and former Surrey coach. He only made two appearances during the term, but he did score 73 runs in one match for Surrey.
In the same year, he participated in the ODI tour of South Africa and struck two half-centuries, earning him his first international cap for India. He received his first T20I cap later in 2024 during the Zimbabwean tour last month, though he was not given the chance to bat.
Sudharsan’s meteoric rise follows two standout IPL seasons in 2022, 2023, and 2024. In those seasons, he became the league’s fastest Indian hitter to 1000 runs, accomplishing the record in just 25 innings—six fewer than Sachin Tendulkar and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Furthermore, he demonstrated incredible growth during the course, going from being a spin hitter to showcasing his skills against fast pace.
Sudharsan scheduled to compete for the Duleep Trophy
When Sudharsan was selected by the selection committee more than six months ago, the left-handed batsman was expected to make his Test debut for India after hitting a half-century and a century for India A against the England Lions. Even though an ailment kept him from taking advantage of the chance at the time, he will be eager to leave the selectors scratching their heads when he competes in the Duleep Trophy next week. Sudharsan is a member of Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Team C. With a strong showing, Sudharsan might find himself in the Indian starting lineup for any of the next two home Test series against New Zealand or Bangladesh.
