County stint has helped me tackle the swinging and seaming deliveries

B. Sai Sudharsan is one cricketer whose stock has risen meteorically in the last few years. The Tamil Nadu left-hander, who made his India debut last year, represented India-C in the recently concluded Duleep Trophy. In a chat at the Rural Development Trust (RDT) Stadium B-ground in Anantapur recently, he spoke at length about his career and ambitions. Excerpts:

Before a day’s play, you face underarm throwdowns at the nets. Why?

Actually, underarm and drop ball are very difficult to play. For that, basics are more important. If things are right, only then you can play underarm and the drop ball well. Otherwise, you will find it difficult to execute every ball well. I follow a lot of routines while facing underarm, a few things I have learnt over a period of years. So, I had been working on that.

That’s part of your nets routine, is it?

Yes. Whenever I go back after a tournament or whenever I play between matches, I try and play a lot of underarm, so that all my basics are always right.

What does drop ball mean?

Drop ball is basically a person feeding you, just drops the ball. It won’t be like underarm. He will stand near you. He will just drop the ball like that. It’s a kind of a drill.

Can you be more specific about how it’s helping you?

I said I have a routine. When I face underarm, I will focus more on the balance. I will focus more on alignment. Focus more on timing. Focus more on very small things. Like, being more smoother, shoulders working together, wrists working together. Very small, small things. But I think it helps your batting and the basics will always be intact. It won’t change over a period of time.

Because, we also play T20 and one-day cricket. We play in different conditions. Because of that, the requirement is as such that it (the basics) tends to change. So, whenever we come back, I try and work on the basics more.

You scored your maiden ton (105, 178b, 10×4, 1×6) in English County cricket for Surrey against Nottinghamshire. What are your biggest learnings from your stints in the County championship?

It’s a very vast question. I feel that earlier when I used to play in swinging or seaming conditions, I used to have that kind of fear where there is a newness whenever I go in. But over a period of time now… last year, one month I spent (in England). This year, a few times I went. Two months ago, I went for one game, and now I went for two games. I feel because of that the familiarity of the balls is there. If you go there, every ball swings. Every other ball swings. Every other ball seams off the wicket. So, (there’s the development of) the habit of playing according to that, rather than getting surprised when we come in.

In India, not every ball will swing or seam. A very random ball or an occasional ball does that. But there, every ball does. So you will have to be even more patient. You will have to be even more technically strong. More basics have to be right. So, I feel because of that, it has given me the experience of playing in seaming and obviously swinging conditions. When we come back, it doesn’t feel new when we play on a green wicket or a seaming wicket. Even the first game (against India-D), when we played on a seaming wicket (at the ‘A’ ground here), I felt I had some idea to play towards it. Yes, the result didn’t go the way we wanted. But still, the approach was better. The mindset towards approaching the game was better.

You batted at No. 6 for that hundred. Was it a new experience for you?

I mean definitely very new. I’ve never batted below No. 4. So, that was a different experience and challenge. Because, you need to play with all-rounders. You need to play with the bowlers. And taking more responsibility and more chances than them. So, it was a new experience for me and hopefully it worked well.

And you brought up your hundred with a six, actually. Being a classical batter, that’s something one wouldn’t think of you to do.

Even I wouldn’t think about it (chuckles). No, it was nine down. And obviously, I was forced to. Because, nine fielders were outside. We were planning to declare soon also. Only chance for me was getting a boundary. It was like, only if I hit a boundary, would I be able to get my hundred. It was the first or second ball of the over. Again, we wanted more overs to bowl. So, I took a chance.

The winning hundred (123 n.o., 56b, 9×4, 9×6) you hit in a 201-run chase in Qualifier-1 for Lyca Kovai Kings (LKK) versus Dindigul Dragons (DD) in the 2024 Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) in July was breathtaking to watch. You went berserk in the end. How did you approach that innings?

I think, definitely, it was a special innings, to be honest. Because, when I came back (from National duty in Zimbabwe), I didn’t score for a few innings. And when I came into that game, when you play that kind of an innings and help the team win, that’s more special than anything.

But I think it was very normal compared to every other game. I approached the game really normally. But one great thing which happened was, I think I just let go that game really well, so that my only thought process was to make the team win and go to the final. That was the only thought process, rather than playing the situation. Yes, of course, playing the situation and everything was there. But still, the ultimate goal was just to make the team win. There was nothing personal, nothing about anything else. So, I think that helped me react better, be better there.

You were on the cusp of making it to the India squad for the Dharamshala Test against England in March. But you were unfortunate since you had picked up an injury then. Now, with the Duleep Trophy, you are back in the red-ball fold. Do you look at it as a great opportunity to push your case?

As a cricketer, this is a great platform and opportunity, where it feels like a Test match every game we play. Even the last game we played, it completely felt like a Test match – the quality we faced and the conditions in which we played. So, I feel that is exposing us as cricketers to many different conditions. And I feel that it is helping me personally to get better as a batter. Obviously, if you get better in red ball, you can expand your batting in all formats. So, I feel this is one of the difficult formats to play for sure. And it is a test for everybody. So, obviously, I would love to play for the country whenever possible. And especially in red ball, because that has been a dream for everybody to get that Test cap. So, definitely looking forward.

You do laps of the ground after a day’s play. You keep hitting the nets to have your basics intact. Last October, you returned from County cricket in England to Rajkot the night before the Irani Cup match and straightaway opened the batting for Rest of India the next morning. Are you a person who believes in grinding harder? You don’t feel the need to rest?

No, I take rest, definitely. Over a period, I have understood that taking rest is also very important. But I 200 per cent believe in it (the grind). Because, that’s the one which is giving everything to us. I think that consistency will in the future set you apart, where you can exponentially get better. I think that consistency is very important. That is what I’m striving for.