‘Old head on very young shoulders': Dinesh Karthik reveals Sai Sudharsan's off-field preps after Test debutant takes notes before batting
A duck did not deter Sai Sudharsan from keeping his preparatory and visualisation regimes intact for the second innings on his his Test debut against England at Leeds on Sunday. If anything, it only get better as the young no. 3 waited of his turn to bat as openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul strode out with India only holding a six-run lead.
Desperate to make amends and avoid a dubious pair, Sudharsan was seen taking down notes on a live broadcast as fellow southpaw Jaiswal and senior batter Rahul negotiated the new, dark Dukes ball.
The left-handed batter was also spotted following the ball, visualising with his helmet on. Sudharsan was seen lifting the ball and raising it before his eyes, and moving it sideways while keeping track of the path.
Sudharsan's Tamil Nadu statemate and former India wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik revealed that the Gujarat Titans batter follows a strict and elaborate off-field preparatory regime ahead of games.
'I'm pretty sure he writes a journal. He is someone who has a very old head on very young shoulders. He does a lot of things off the field, like meditation, plenty of yoga, and has a very long warm-up regime as well. He is a man who is ready to shine on this international scene. In the limited opportunities that he has had in ODI, he has done really well, and now he has got his opportunity in Test cricket as well,' Karthik remarked.
After being caught down leg by the wicket-keeper for a duck in the first innings, Sudharsan responded with a firm 30-run knock before a booming in-swinger from England captain Ben Stokes had him flick a delivery to the mid-wicket fielder, shortly before close of play on Day 3.
'First innings, caught down the leg side, but today he looked solid. He played the part, and as luck would have it, it's not going to be easy. You need to fight it out. One innocuous shot and caught at midwicket. That's how the game goes,' said Karthik on Sky Sports.
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