Sai Sudharsan Biography: Childhood, career and achievements
In the fourth Test between England and India, southpaw Sai Sudharsan impressed massively in the first innings as he got a gritty half century in Manchester. Sai Sudharsan has looked solid in his nascent Test career, having a rock solid technique and the confidence to take on some of the best in the world. While Sai Sudharsan has now become the talk of the town, there’s a lot about his life that might be relatively unknown.
A left-handed top-order batter and occasional right‑arm leg‑break bowler, he made his ODI debut for India against South Africa in December 2023 and earned his first Test cap at Headingley, Leeds, on 20 June 2025, joining an exclusive group that includes Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly who also debuted on that historic date.
Here’s a quick look at Sai Sudharsan’s childhood, career and major achievements:
Childhood
Standing on proud sporting shoulders, Sai Sudharsan was born on October 15, 2001, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to a family deeply rooted in athletic tradition. His father, R. Bharadwaj, represented India at the South Asian Games, while his mother, Usha Bharadwaj, was a state-level volleyball player and later became a strength and conditioning coach for athletes in Tamil Nadu. From his earliest years, Sai grew up surrounded by disciplined training and a disciplined mindset, which naturally led him to gravitate towards cricket as his first sporting love.
While attending DAV Boys Senior Secondary School in Chennai, Sai's passion for cricket overshadowed academics. He requested a school transfer after Class 8 to Santhome Higher Secondary School, a place better suited for nurturing sporting talent. Starting around age 13, Sai joined the Bar B B Chandrasekhar Cricket Academy and impressed everyone with explosive innings — one notable performance was scoring 29 runs off just 13 balls during a club-level tournament. After that showing, his father fully backed Sai’s dream to pursue cricket professionally, pivoting his focus entirely to nurturing Sai’s training and development.
Career
Sai Sudharsan was the leading run scorer for Alwarpet in the 2019/20 Raja of Palayampatti Shield. He made his Mushtaq Ali debut shortly after, and also got a chance at Vijay Hazare level. Sai Sudharsan impressed at the domestic circuit and was picked up by Gujarat Titans for IPL 2022.
He got his debut after Vijay Shankar was injured and ruled out of the tournament. It was however in the 2023 season that Sai Sudharsan was really able to showcase his talent. He scored 362 runs in that season, including a 96 in the final against Chennai Super Kings.
Sai Sudharsan was the top scorer for Gujarat Titans in the 2024 IPL season, although the franchise had a year to forget. In 2025, Sai Sudharsan formed a lethal combination with Shubman Gill as Gujarat Titans managed to reach the playoffs. He played no small role in that, as he was the Orange Cap winner with 759 runs, averaging 54.21 for the season. Sai Sudharsan became the youngest to win the Orange Cap in the IPL as well.
International call-ups weren’t going to be too far with continued success in the IPL, and Sai Sudharsan played 3 ODIs against South Africa, as well as one T20I against Zimbabwe. With his batting prowess and impressive technique at the 2025 IPL, Sai Sudharsan was also roped in for the away Tests against England.
Major Achievements
- Youngest player to score 700+ runs in an IPL season
- Youngest player to win an Orange Cap in the IPL
- Scored a century (103 off 59) against Chennai Super Kings in the 2024 IPL season at Ahmedabad
- Top run scorer for Gujarat Titans in 2024 and 2025 IPL season
- Scored two fifties in first three ODI games, playing away against South Africa
- Fastest Indian to get to 2000 T20 runs, getting there after just 54 games
- Sai Sudharsan is the first player to get to 2000 T20 runs without scoring a duck
- Sai Sudharsan and N Jagadeeshan got a record opening partnership of 416 runs in the 2022 Vijay - - ------ Hazare Trophy against Arunachal Pradesh
- Scored hundreds in his first two Ranji Trophy games
