'Last year, in certain innings, I was a bit slow' - Sai Sudharsan explains how he transformed his game after IPL 2024

Published - 17 May 2025, 23:09 IST | Updated - 17 May 2025, 23:48 IST

Sai Sudharsan has impressed fans as well as experts with his exploits for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the last three seasons of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He is the second-highest run-getter for the 2022 champions, only behind skipper Shubman Gill.

However, what has stood out in the ongoing 18th edition of the league is the southpaw's aggressive mindset from the get-go. Sudharsan acknowledged that he was slow to get off the blocks in IPL 2024. He said that he put in some hard work behind the scenes to change his mindset and play attacking cricket from ball one this season.

“Last year, in certain innings, I was a bit slow. The pitches that we played also were a bit different to the others. And even the team situation was such that there were no great starts. We kept losing wickets and I wasn’t able to give good starts. I was slow to get off the block," The Indian Express.

“I realised that I’d have to push myself more; be a bit more explosive. So I went home and worked on the mindset of it. As you said, I didn’t change anything with my batting, but just brought more clarity. I wanted to bring the explosive element very early in the innings. If I could do it later, I could definitely do it at the beginning as well from ball one. From there on, I practiced with these thoughts in mind,” the left-hander added.

The talented youngster said that he chose the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) after IPL 2024 as the stage where he would bat with a more positive mindset, and it worked wonders for him.

“The idea to be a bit more positive started at the TNPL. Even before last season’s IPL was done, I remember asking myself how we should play next year and what should I do to take my batting forward. I definitely had ideas to add more elements to my batting. I wanted to see what it brings to my game. The mindset had to change. When the TNPL happened, it didn’t start well, but by the end I was able to see the difference. Unless you go through that grind and test yourself, you don’t know the ceiling you can reach,” Sai Sudharsan says.