The premier county club Surrey roped in young Indian left-handed batter Sai Sudharsan for their remaining three matches in the ongoing County Championship. Sai will be taking part in the matches against Warwickshire to be played from Sunday, followed by at the KIA Oval in London, against Northants Steelbacks on September 3, from September 19 at the same ground, and against Hampshire from September 26 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
“With the busy schedule of international and domestic cricket around the world, I’m pleased to add Sai Sudharsan to our available squad of players. Sai has come highly recommended to me by people I hugely respect, including a couple of the greats of the Indian game, who have seen and worked closely with him,” Alec Stewart, Director of Cricket at Surrey, was quoted as saying.
“Sai will add to the batting options for the final three games of the season, and we look forward to welcoming him to the dressing room,” he added.
For Surrey, Sudharsan is the second international signing for this period after they signed West Indies speedster Kemar Roach who'll be back for the last three matches as well.
Sudharsan became a prominent name during the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Gujarat Titans. During the final this year, he ended up scoring 96 runs, although it was not enough for the Titans to defeat the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
The 21-year-old Sudharsan has played in only eight first-class matches so far and collected 598 runs at an average of 42.71, including two hundreds and a half-century, with a top score of 179. Sudharsan plays for Tamil Nadu and has played a few crucial knocks for them. Recently, he made a century for India A in their match against Pakistan A in the Men’s Emerging Asia Cup in Sri Lanka.