Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is just a few weeks away. In the first match of the competition, defending champions Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will face Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Over the years, this tournament has given India some great cricketers, among them Sai Sudarshan has been one of the future stars.
Sai Sudarshan plays for Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL. The left-handed batsman was picked up by GT in 2022, and since then, he has been making a name for himself in the tournament. His amazing performances in the 2025 season earned him the Emerging Player of the Year award.
Sai Sudarshan is an underrated T20 player
Sai scored 759 runs in the tournament and was also the Orange Cap winner for the season. Although his team failed to qualify for the finals, he had a stellar season in the IPL, earning him calls into the ODI, T20I and Test squads for India. He has played 3 ODIs and 6 Test matches for the Men in Blue so far.
Ahead of the IPL, former India opener Sadagoppan Ramesh has praised the southpaw’s brilliant consistency and also believes that he has not been given due credit, and his performances have been undervalued as he does not have the explosive nature of Rajasthan Royals wonderboy Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Sai Sudarshan is similar to Shikhar Dhawan-Sadagoppan Ramesh
Speaking on JioHostar, Ramesh said, “His biggest strength is hitting boundaries. Shikhar Dhawan is one of the most underrated batsmen of the IPL. Dhawan used to score 500 runs consistently in a season. But his innings were structured in such a way that it went unnoticed, yet he kept hitting boundaries on time.”
“Sai Sudarshan is similar to Shikhar Dhawan in his scoring patterns. His batting will not look as explosive as Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s. But the runs will keep coming for Sai. Before you realize it, he will surprise you with how many runs he scores in an innings.”
It is difficult to remain consistent – Sai Sudarshan
Sadagoppan Ramesh also suggested that Sai Sudarshan should add more firepower along with consistency to his batting, as this will help him get a chance in the T20I team. Sai has played one T20I for the Men in Blue in 2024, against Zimbabwe.
Ramesh concluded, “It is difficult to remain consistent. Still, Sai Sudarshan must realize the pressure he is under considering the number of openers he is competing against in India. His competition is full of explosive batsmen who play at strike rates of 180 and 200. Sai is a 600-run scorer per season. But there was a time when he looked good enough to make the Indian T20I team. Were staying.”
Sai Sudarshan will look to score runs in this edition of IPL. However, they need firepower rather than classic stroke play as Team India plays on a high-risk, high-reward philosophy, where the batsmen have to strike right from the first ball. His magic will be seen against Punjab Kings on 31st March.
Also read: No Abhishek Sharma! Ishan Kishan to lead SRH in IPL 2026
