"No one can do what Virat has done"- Ex-England cricketer warns Sai Sudharsan of challenges ahead of potential test debut in IND vs ENG series

The upcoming series against England will be a great opportunity for Sai Sudharsan to lock his place in the Indian test team.

Former England cricketer Alec Stewart made a massive statement about Sai Sudharsan replacing Virat Kohli in the Indian Cricket Team for the test squad. He said that the left-hander will have big shoes to fill in as no one can do what the senior batter has done. 

The Indian Cricket Team is all set to clash with the England Cricket Team in the five-match test series. The series will begin on 20th June at Headingley in Leeds and will conclude on 4th August at The Kennington Oval in London. It will also be part of the ICC World Test Championship cycle 2025-27. 

The test series against England will also mark the beginning of a new era in Indian cricket. This is because two legends in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli called their time in test cricket, and it will be a young team under Shubman Gill that will be taking on in in-form English side. 

One of the young players who is expected to make his debut in the first test is Sai Sudharsan. The Tamil Nadu opener has put big strides forward in his career of late because of his consistent performances in domestic cricket, for which he got his maiden test call-up too. 

Sai Sudharsan got a nod ahead of others in the squad based on his county stint last year. The left-hander played for Surrey last year and also notched up a ton there. Not only this, he also hit a century for India A while playing in Australia ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. 

Obviously big shoes to fill, with Mr Kohli standing down – Alec Stewart on Sai Sudharsan

Alec Stewart, who was Surrey’s director of cricket when Sudharsan played county cricket, admitted that replacing Virat Kohli will be one of the toughest tasks, but if the Tamil Nadu batter does not think about becoming the next Kohli, he can do well. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he said: 

“Obviously big shoes to fill, with Mr Kohli standing down. But no one can do what Virat has done. If he can go in and almost not think of ‘I’m Virat’ because he’s not replacing him… Virat has retired.“

“And therefore, can he not be the next Virat but can he be the best version of Sai Sudharsan? Then India have got yet another high-quality cricketer.”

Alec Stewart also lavished rich praise on Sai Sudharsan, saying that the India batter is like Kane Williamson, who plays the ball late. He added: 

“He plays the ball late, and that’s the most important thing here. If you go too hard and get too far out in front of yourself, when the ball seams, you’re not in control, then your bat can get outside of your eyeline, whereas he plays it under his eyeline, plays it under his eyes, and plays it late. And even if he does nick it a little bit, like Kane Williamson, for example – you can nick it, but it still falls short of slip and that again is a real attribute of Sai’s.” 

The upcoming series against England will be a great opportunity for Sai Sudharsan to lock his place in the Indian test team. He is expected to bat at number three, and it remains to be seen how he will fare in the series.

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