Everyone helps me to express myself: Sai Sudharsan

Sai Sudharsan, the lead performer with the bat for Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL, says thanks to Ashish Nehra and all the support staff and the team, they had the trust in him from the first year

Hyderabad: Sai Sudharsan, the lead performer with the bat for Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL, says thanks to Ashish Nehra and all the support staff and the team, they had the trust in him from the first year. Speaking at JioStar’s ‘Gen Bold’ show, Sudharsan said that when a sense of belonging was given, you would also have that responsibility to give it back to the team. “That’s the most important thing in any team. So that has helped me to express myself, whatever I want to do. There’s no judgment here,” the Titans opener said.

“Getting runs, being more impactful, and doing it at a very good strike rate—that’s where the responsibility kicks in for the team. If you’re consistent enough to make your team cross the line, that’s the most important thing,” Sudharsan said. “And the Orange Cap is a by-product. If you think about the Orange Cap, I feel your potential goes down. You restrict yourself a bit more because personal preferences come in front of team preferences,” he added.

On playing with his captain, Shubman Gill, Sudharsan said he always looked up to Gill in these three years. “If I have difficulty in the nets or difficulty facing somebody, I will have a conversation with him on what he feels I can do better,” he said.

“I’ve grown a lot because of him and by watching him play. Mentally, he’s a very competitive captain. And I feel he understands what the player needs. He is somebody who will give players who are facing difficulties a comfort zone, where they can come back stronger. We’ve shared a lot of memories on the field as well. Hopefully, we will create lovely memories this season too,” Sudharsan explained.

“I’ve never seen a more dramatic game than the 2023 IPL final (which Titans lost to CSK via DLS method). I got retired in the previous qualifier game, so there were a lot of mixed emotions, and those emotions and that experience taught me a lot.

And that’s why the 2023 IPL Final game also came out well. The way I approached this game was a bit different. There was a sense of freedom on one hand, and there was a sense of motivation or a rage—that I should make a big difference in this game for my team,” the star batter recalled.