Shastri had coached the Indian team on England tours in 2018 and 2021
Former India coach Ravi Shastri backed Gujarat Titans opener B Sai Sudharsan to be selected for India’s squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England.
Sai Sudharsan has been in terrific form in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 and is the second highest run-scorer in the competition after nine matches with 456 runs at a strike rate of 150 and an average of 50.67.
The Tamil Nadu youngster came close to making the cut for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia after scoring a hundred in India A’s shadow tour.
However, he required surgery for sports hernia in December last year and was ruled of major domestic competitions such as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the List-A Vijay Hazare Trophy.
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The southpaw made a long-awaited return to the Tamil Nadu side in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 quarterfinal against Vidarbha and registered scores of 7 and 2.
While India’s white-ball form has been scintillating, their form in Tests is concerning after having lost back-to-back series against New Zealand and Australia.
“I see this young man, Sai Sudharsan, for all formats of the game. He seems like a class player and my eyes would be on him certainly. Being a left-hander in England, knowing English conditions, and just his technique, the way he plays, I think he’ll be top of the list for me from the outsiders wanting to get into this side,” Shastri said while talking to ICC Review.
Shastri was the head coach for the England tours in 2018 (India lost 4-1) and a 2-2 drawn series in 2021. The fifth and final Test of that series was postponed when India were leading 2-1 due to a COVID-19 outbreak. By that time Rahul Dravid had replaced Shastri.
India lost the final Test in Birmingham when England looked revitalised under then new head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
Sai Sudharsan’s inclusion in the squad will add another left-hander to India’s top-order which has multiple right-hander options.
India’s tour of England will also kick off their World Test Championship cycle for 2025-27. The series will be played from June 22 and August 4.
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