TimesofIndia.com in Mullanpur: Gujarat Titans (GT) opener Sai Sudharsan was gutted after Gujarat Titans’ (GT) 20-run loss in the Eliminator against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the New PCA Stadium on Friday.The southpaw, who finished the tournament with 759 runs, did not confirm whether he would be joining the India A squad for the second unofficial Test in Northampton, starting from June 6, which the BCCI had mentioned in a statement.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“In our minds, we were planning only to leave on the 4th (June) from IPL, so we were not thinking about when to leave from India for the Test team. If that was the plan for the Test team, we would have left on the 6th, but now we will have to have a conversation and see how it goes,” he told reporters in the post-match press conference.
The 23-year-old is banking on the English County experience he gained with Surrey last season to do well in the upcoming five-match Test series.“I think I played seven games, so it gave me great experience, to be honest. It improved my batting multiple-fold in terms of technique and basics. The most important lesson I have learned is that basics are the most important thing in batting, so I think it should help me,” he said.“I will focus more on what I learned, and I will try to be aware and create that awareness before going into the series,” he added.Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene has warned Sai Sudharsan about the challenges he would face in England.“I have enjoyed his batting. I have to be honest, he is a good lefty, plays good cricketing shots, and has a good head on his shoulders as well. So, I am sure he will do well.“It will be a challenge in England, like we have all done in the past, but I think he will find a way to do what he needs to do in England, and I am pretty sure that he is a very talented cricketer,” said Jayawardene.Sai Sudharsan has admitted that switching from white-ball to red-ball cricket will be his biggest challenge in England.“I think it is all about mindset and decision-making. So, definitely, after a long three months of white-ball tournaments, certain things would have changed in your batting,” said Sai Sudharsan.“I think focusing more on basics and bringing those back to red-ball cricket will take some time. I think we will have some good time before the series starts.”
