Sai Sudharsan, the young batsman from Tamil Nadu, earned a rare standing ovation from his team Gujarat Titans at the dugout for scoring 96 off 46 balls in the final match of the Indian Premier League against the Chennai Super Kings. Despite his scintillating performance, GT lost the finals. But what has remained with him, burnt in memory, is the image of his teammates — arms raised in applause for his stellar knock.
Speaking exclusively to CNN-News 18, Sudharsan said: “It is special to get a standing ovation from your own teammates. I think it was very special for me and very special for my family as well. I am really happy that I could contribute for the team in such an important game, which is the IPL final. It is close to my heart and I’m very happy about the performance. It took me some time to process it. ”
Gujarat Titans is where he belongs but being a resident of Chennai, Sudharsan’s adulation for MS Dhoni is evident. “I got an opportunity to speak to him for 10-15 minutes after Qualifier 1. I think we spoke a lot about cricket, and knowing more of yourself, and I think it is very useful and I will take it going forward definitely.”
Sudharsan adds that Dhoni is a very humble person and looks forward to an opportunity to interact with Thala again in the next IPL season. “Dhoni is the most humble person I have met because he gives time to everyone. On the day I spoke to him, there were a lot of people talking to him before. He was very humble and he gave everybody a lot of time and that is one thing I admire about him. The way he reads the game, I would also like to learn a lot from him and if given an opportunity, I would like to speak to him in the future,” he said.
Like every CSK fan, he too hopes to see Dhoni in the next IPL season.
The 21-year-old Chennai player has mixed feelings about his performance against the Super Kings. Sudharsan said: “It felt very special to play against CSK in the finals. To be honest, I grew up watching CSK and almost saw all the cricketers play. Coming from Chennai, CSK is always close to everyone’s heart and to me as well. We grew up seeing Dhoni play. I’m happy and fortunate that I got an opportunity at the start of the tournament to play…So, I had a very great feeling.”
Sudharsan received praise from senior players including Sachin Tendulkar and says he is grateful to his captain Hardik Pandya for giving him an opportunity to prove his talent. “Hardik Bhai creates a platform for every cricketer to showcase their talent to their fullest. I think those things from Hardik Bhai and the environment which they put us in made it easy for me to believe that I belong to that place or I could also be part of this time.”
Going forward, Sudharsan will be busy playing in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, beginning this month. “TNPL is one of the important places for me to showcase my talent. It’s because of TNPL that I’m here,” he said.
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