Kamal Ghorui
The T20 game has evolved rapidly. With swashbuckling openers like Abhishek Sharma, young talent Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Priyansh Arya and others making an impact, the format has taken a more aggressive turn. Batters now often walk in with one clear intent — to hit the ball out of the park. However, for Sai Sudharsan, versatility remains more important than chasing high strike rates heading into IPL 2026.“I think it is important to have that versatility. It is important to look at it that way rather than just looking at just I want to improve my strike rate. Rather than that, I think I am looking to be more versatile.”
“I think it depends so much on the conditions. It depends so much on a lot of variables. Yes, they (Abhishek, Sanju Samson, Sooryavanshi) have done a brilliant job. And as batters, we would love to and especially I would love to learn from that. And I would love to up my bar as well for sure.”“If the wicket is really good, yes, we will also have to do that (up the strike-rate). But if the wicket is tacky, if the wicket is a little difficult, we will have to be versatile enough to adapt to that as well. I think I am focusing a lot more on being versatile and taking the innings longer and making the team win.”Sudharsan won the ‘Orange Cap’ with 759 runs at a strike rate of around 145 in the last IPL season.‘Gill a trustworthy person’Having opened the batting with Shubman Gill for several years now, Sudharsan has developed strong mutual trust with the Gujarat Titans captain and feels comfortable discussing his thoughts and mental state with him.“Shubman as a skipper is a very trustworthy person. He makes you feel that you belong to the team. He keeps you in a very good place.“He is very instinctive. He knows what you are feeling. Most of the times, when I was feeling something in my mind, he used to tell me, ‘I understand what you are feeling but you are there.“At times, he would tell me something to make me feel a bit more positive or make me feel a bit more grounded. I think he is one of the great captains I have played under,” Sudharsan said, leaving no doubt about Gill’s leadership.
