Sai Sudharsan has been handed his maiden Test cap and is all set to make his India debut in IND vs ENG 1st Test in Leeds. Ahead of the toss, the Tamil Nadu was presented with the Test cap number 317. Sudharsan’s consistent efforts with the bat over the years has finally paid off as he has managed to break into the Indian team’s playing XI.
Sai Sudharsan makes Test debut in Leeds
Sudharsan was handed his Test cap by veteran Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of the toss at the Headingley. Skipper Shardul Thakur confirmed that Sai will bat at number 3. Karun Nair, who returns to the team after 7 years, is also back in the playing XI. India have gone with three pacers – Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna and Siraj – with Shardul Thakur serving as the 4th pacer.
“Sai makes his debut, Karun comes in. Sudharsan will bat at three,” Gill said after losing the toss.
Sudharsan’s road to maiden Test call-up
Sudharsan has improved leaps and bounds over the last few years and has shown his prowess in domestic tournaments across formats. Having made his first-class debut in 2022, the Tamil Nadu batter has scored 1957 runs in 29 matches, averaging 39.93. He has hit seven hundreds and five fifties.
In 2023, he also played for Surrey in the County Championship, where three centuries in one-day games in seven innings. While he did earn his ODI and T20I call-ups in 2023 and 2024, he had to wait until the England series to be named as a part of the Indian squad.
In Ranji Trophy 2024/25, he finished with 304 runs to his name from 3 matches, averaging a mind-boggling 76.00 including a century and a half-century. He finished as the leading run-getter in IPL 2025 with 759 runs from 15 matches, including a hundred and six fifties.
