With a few Team India’s fast bowlers under the injury cloud, the tourists could have a similar concern on the batting front ahead of the high-profile tour of New Zealand.
The left-handed batter hobbled off the field on Day 2 of the 2026-27 Ranji Trophy match between Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu on October 12, Monday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Is he at risk of missing the New Zealand tour?
Will B Sai Sudharsan miss Team India’s upcoming New Zealand tour?
The Gujarat Titans batter went down while trying to stop a boundary at cover after Karan Lamba drove the ball off P. Saravana Kumar’s bowling. The injury did not appear serious but a support staff member had to help him off the field. Sudharsan had only recently returned to action after recovering from a toe injury sustaining during the Sri Lanka tour. The southpaw featured in India’s A unofficial ODI series against Australia A in Puducherry and has also been named in the India A squad for the three red-ball games against New Zealand A, beginning on October 26 in Lincoln. As it stands, the injury doesn’t appear to be serious and he should be fit to bat.
Sudharsan was notably not included in Tamil Nadu’s playing XI initially for Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy fixture against Rajasthan. However, he was included after arriving at 10:00 PM on the eve of the match.
India A Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravichandran Smaran, Rishabh Pant* [WK], Dhruv Jurel [CWK], Washington Sundar, Auqib Nabi, Akash Deep, Anshul Kamboj, Manav Suthar, Mukesh Choudhary, Sai Sudarsan, Yash Rathod, Mukesh Kumar.
When did B Sai Sudharsan last play for Team India?
The 24-year-old’s most recent match for Team India came during the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June in Mullanpur. He had scored 81 in India’s only innings against Afghanistan. However, Devdutt Padikkal is likely to get the nod for No.3 for the opening Test against New Zealand after an outstanding Test series against Sri Lanka.
Padikkal, another elegant left-hander, made scores of 167, 44 and 117 against Sri Lanka en route to Team India’s 1-0 series victory. From the perspective of the World Test Championship (WTC), the series against New Zealand looms as a crucial one and a 2-0 victory for the tourists will keep them firmly in contention to play the final next year.