India’s in-form Sudharsan to draw on county stints for England Tests

Chandigarh, India: In-form Sai Sudharsan will draw on county cricket experience as he switches from the IPL to the five-day game for his first Test tour with India when they travel to England.

The left-handed opener made a valiant 80 on Friday as Gujarat Titans went down to Mumbai Indians and were knocked out of the IPL.

The 23-year-old was key to Gujarat´s journey to the playoffs.

He is the leading batsman in the league with 759 runs, including one century and six half-centuries, at an average of 54.21.

Gujarat´s exit will give him extra time before he heads to England for a five-Test series beginning at Headingley on June 20.

Sudharsan, part of an 18-man India squad led by new captain Shubman Gill -- his Gujarat skipper and fellow opener -- had stints with English county Surrey last year and in 2023.

“It gave me a great experience,” he told reporters after Gujarat´s 20-run defeat at Mullanpur. “It improved my batting multiple folds in terms of technique and in terms of basics.”

Sudharsan has dominated bowlers in the IPL but admits adapting to the longer format in England will require a new “mindset and decision-making”. “After a long three months of white-ball tournament, certain things would have changed in your batting,” he said. “I think focusing more on basics and bringing back those to red-ball cricket will take some time.”

Chennai-born Sudharsan, who plays domestic cricket for the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, played three ODIs for India in 2023 and one T20 international last year.

The series in England will be India´s first without opener Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the two veterans who retired from Test cricket in May.