Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025: Was Sai Sudharsan's Test debut rushed?

Summary

• Sai Sudharsan was dismissed for a 4-ball duck after receiving his Test cap from Cheteshwar Pujara
• The Southpaw was picked for the first Test ahead of Abhimanyu Easwaran, Dhruv Jurel, and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
• The youngster played a poor shot to get dismissed on his Test debut

Sai Sudharsan had a poor Test debut, as he registered a 4-ball duck in the first innings of the Headingley Test in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025. More than anything, Sudharsan's way of getting out was disappointing to see, as he nudged the ball that came way too wide towards the leg side to hand a simple catch to the keeper behind him.

Sudharsan had a good season with the bat in the IPL 2025, where he scored 759 runs in 15 innings at an average of 54.21 and a strike rate of 156.17 to win the orange cap. The way he batted with a good technique meant he was regarded as a contender for the Test series against England. For the same reason, selectors believed in him and got him onboard for the big series.

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However, not many would have expected him to make a Test debut in his maiden call-up. Compared to the Southpaw, the India A players like Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, and Nitish Kumar Reddy were all in form and had good performances to their name in the unofficial Tests against England Lions before the start of the official Tests.

Naturally, these players probably stood a better chance of being in the XI. However, the Indian management decided to hand over the cap to Sudharsan, who did not take part in the unofficial Tests and has not been a part of the Test setup for a longer period than the above-mentioned players. The youngster was expected to deliver the goods straightaway, given the hype around him.

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Was Sai Sudharsan ready for his Test debut?

What turned out on his very first innings in the longest format was a scratchy innings. In his stay in the middle, Sudharsan did not look comfortable at all. The Southpaw tried to play too many shots and even poked at wider deliveries without any precision. It seemed as if the Gujarat Titans batter was still in the IPL mode.

Ben Stokes, who was bowling extremely well from his end with a good outswinger and seam, threatened all the batters. Sudharsan became a prey of his bowling, rather than a poor shot. The English skipper has set an unorthodox field position towards the leg side just beside the wicketkeeper to induce edges off the inside half of the willow.

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Stokes offered a bit of width towards the pads in his spell and invited Sudharsan to throw his bat at it. The youngster fell into the trap but was lucky enough for his bat not to come in contact with the ball in the first instance. However, the same delivery was bowled at the Southpaw, which eventually got rid of him.

It was a clear indication that Sudharsan was not ready for the longest format of the game. A bit of exposure with India A could have helped him. Or a bit of practice in the nets, a bit of exposure to Test matches, and a bit of observation of the world-class players could have helped him better. In the upcoming innings, he can be expected to perform better.