The TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is just a few weeks away. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be taking on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the first match of the competition. Over the years, the tournament has delivered some of the greatest cricketers for India, among them, Sai Sudharsan has been one of the future stars.
Sai Sudharsan plays for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL. The left-handed batter was picked by GT back in 2022, and since then, he has been making a name for himself in the tournament. His amazing performance in the 2025 season earned him the Emerging Player of the Year award.
Sai Sudharsan is an underrated T20 player
Sai scored 759 runs in the tournament and was also the Orange Cap winner of the season. Though his side failed to qualify for the final, he had an excellent season in the IPL, which also earned him a call in the ODI, T20I, and Test teams for India. He has just played 3 ODI and 6 Test matches for the Men in Blue.
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Ahead of the IPL, former India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh has praised the Southpaw for his phenomenal consistency and also believes that he has not been provided the due credit, and his performances become undervalued as he does not have the explosive nature like Rajasthan Royals’ wonderboy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Sai Sudarshan is similar to Shikhar Dhawan- Sadagoppan Ramesh
Speaking on JioHostar, Ramesh said, “His biggest strength is boundary hitting. Shikhar Dhawan is one of the least talked-about IPL batters. Dhawan used to consistently score 500 runs in a season at one stretch. But his innings would be built in a way that goes unnoticed, yet he would keep scoring timely boundaries.”
“Sai Sudarshan is similar to Shikhar Dhawan in his scoring pattern. His batting will not look explosive like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. But the runs will keep flowing for Sai. Before you realize it, he will shock you by how many runs he has scored in an innings.”
It’s hard to be consistent- Sai Sudharsan
Sadagoppan Ramesh also suggested that Sai Sudharsan should add more firepower to his batting, along with his consistency, as this would help him to get a chance in the T20I team. Sai has just played one T20I for the Men in Blue against Zimbabwe back in 2024.
Ramesh concluded, saying, “It’s hard to be consistent. Yet, Sai Sudarshan must be aware of the pressure he is under, given the openers he is competing with in India. His competition is full of explosive batters, who play at strike rates of 180 and 200. Sai is a guaranteed 600-run scorer per season. But there was a time where he looked good to break into the Indian T20I side.”
Sai Sudharsan will look to score runs in this edition of the IPL. However, he needs to have the firepower rather than the classic stroke play as Team India plays on the philosophy of high risk, high reward, where the batters have to strike from the very first delivery. He will be seen on March 31 against the Punjab Kings.
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