IND vs ENG 1st Test, 2025: Tamil Nadu sensation Sai Sudharsan marked his Test debut on Friday during the first match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England at Headingley, Leeds.
Sudharsan was seen receiving the Test cap from Cheteshwar Pujara in a team huddle ahead of the toss that went in Ben Stokes’ favour, with England opting to bowl first.
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Sudharsan is the 317th man to receive the India Test cap and will likely mark his first innings as India’s new No. 3 in the line-up. The left-hander’s batting technique received several plaudits after a record-breaking IPL 2025 season, where he finished as the highest run-getter with 759 runs.
Sudharsan has previously featured in two County stints with Surrey in 2023 and 2024, averaging 35. In his last outing for the side, Sudharsan cracked his maiden First-Class century in English conditions, while batting at No. 6. Overall, the 23-year-old averages 39.93 for 1957 runs in 29 FC outings since his debut in 2022.
Test Cap number 3⃣1⃣7⃣
Congratulations to Sai Sudharsan, who is all set to make his Test Debut 🙌
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The youngster was also part of the India A squad during the tour to Australia last year where he slammed a century in the first unofficial match against Australia A.
Behind his rise to the Indian team is the story of his family’s incredible support and sacrifice.
“My mother takes care of my strength and conditioning and my dad (R Bharadwaj, a former national-level athlete) handles my running aspect. And I have my brother (B Sai Ram) who offers all the support. They know me completely. They understand my emotions. Because they are knowledgeable, they can make a difference in my life,” Sai Sudharsan tells The Indian Express.
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Sudharsan has previously represented India in three ODIs in South Africa in 2022, recording two half-centuries with a best of 67.
Nair returns
Joining Sudharsan in the XI is Karun Nair, making his comeback to the Test fold for his first appearance in eight years since his last match against Australia in March 2017 in Dharamsala. Nair made waves on the domestic circuit this season, including his career-best Ranji Trophy season ending with a title triumph in Vidarbha. The 33-year-old shone in the knockout matches, slamming three centuries, including a century in the final against Kerala.
“Life has come a full circle because I went out of the team in England and now I’m coming back into the team in England. So it’s been a while and I’m trying to embrace that,” said Nair ahead of the first Test to BCCI.tv.
“My first thought when I woke up was I want to play Test cricket, I want to play for India again. That’s probably what kept me going and kept me hungry. The driving force, go to training every day, go to practice every day. I had a goal of I want to play Test cricket again and I was always looking at playing Test cricket and every day, every morning I used to wake up thinking what should I do to reach that goal,” said Nair.
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Nair strengthened his chances for a Test return when he cracked his 24th First-Class century earlier this month, culminating in a double century against the England Lions.