'His domestic record is not great...': Ex-TN coach questioned India's squad selection against England

'His domestic record is not great...': Ex-TN coach questioned India's squad selection against England
India's Rishabh Pant (C) splashes his face with water as Shubman Gill (R) looks on during the second day of the third and final Test cricket match between India and New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium

Story Highlights:

India vs England five-Test match series is scheduled to start from June 20.

Shubman Gill will lead India in five-Test match series against England.

Gujarat Titans (GT) batter Sai Sudharsan has made the cut for India's 18-member Test squad against England, which is scheduled to start from June 20. The batter is currently in the form of his life. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, he scored 675 runs in 14 outings of the tournament and is currently at the top of the highest run-getter in the cash-rich league. 

The left-handed batter has been lauded from a lot of cricketers the IPL 2025 season, where he has seemingly raised the bar in his white-ball cricket. However, former Tamil Nadu coach Sulakshan Kulkarni believes that Sudharsan’s existing batting techniques would not be enough to the upcoming challenges in England. 

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Kulkarni, who worked with Sudharsan during the 2023-24 season when he was in charge of the TN team, picked up on his underwhelming First-Class record and said the youngster needs work on his technique to counter the moving ball.

“His domestic record is not great. When I was the coach, I saw him play on a seaming track in at least two matches. And he didn’t play well there. His technique against the moving ball needs to improve,” Kulkarni was quoted as saying by Times of India.

 

 

Kulkarni also believes that Sudharsan will have to curb the range of his strokes to succeed against the English attack.

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“He has a tendency of playing away from the body while the secret of success in England is to play late and play the ball right under your nose. He has to curb some of his strokes and should play straight and close to the body. He has to work to get the technique right before the tour,” Kulkarni added.

 

 

Sudharsan has previously featured in two County stints with Surrey in 2023 and 2024 where his average was 35. In his last outing, he smashed a maiden First-Class century in English conditions while batting at No. 6. Overall, the 23-year-old averages 39.93 for 1957 runs in 29 FC outings since his debut in 2022.

The five-Test match series between India and England is scheduled to start from June 20. The BCCI has already announced the squad for the upcoming red-ball tour, where Shubman Gill will lead the side and Rishabh Pant will be his deputy. Apart from Sudharsan, left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has also been included in the 18-member team.