Gujarat Titans opener Sai Sudharsan addressed that he pushed himself in IPL 2025 to play at a better strike rate in comparison to last year.
The 23-year-old improved significantly this season, scoring 509 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 153.51. He has been one of the most consistent performers and is currently the second-leading run-scorer of the tournament.
Reflecting on his improvement, Sudharsan mentioned that he was a bit slow last year as the middle order wasn’t well settled, and the cricketer had to adjust to situations. However, in 2025, he concentrated on becoming more explosive and changed his mindset to become a better version of himself in the shortest format of the game. The southpaw mentioned having more clarity and practised accordingly.
“Last year, in certain innings, I was a bit slow. The pitches that we played also were a bit different to the others. And even the team situation was such that there were no great starts. We kept losing wickets and I wasn’t able to give good starts. I was slow to get off the block,” Sai Sudharsan tells The Indian Express.
“I realised that I’d have to push myself more; be a bit more explosive. So I went home and worked on the mindset of it. As you said, I didn’t change anything with my batting, but just brought more clarity. I wanted to bring the explosive element very early in the innings. If I could do it later, I could definitely do it at the beginning as well from ball one. From there on, I practised with these thoughts in mind,” he added.
Furthermore, the youngster added that he tried to execute the new version in the last Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). Upon succeeding in the tournament, he continued to play a similar brand of cricket in the cash-rich league.