New Delhi [India], October 8 : India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate assured that misfiring number three batter Sai Sudharsan isn't living in a delusion about his spot in the team, despite his tumultuous start to his Test journey. As Sudharsan is toiling for runs, Doeschate urged the young southpaw to believe in himself while declaring that he has the captain and coaching staff's support.
Sudharsan earned his maiden Test cap during India's tour of England during the series opener at Headingley in June. After falling for a duck in the first innings, Sudharsan showed promise in the second, notching 30(48), but flicked the ball to Zak Crawley off Ben Stokes. He was dropped for the next two fixtures and returned during the fourth Test in Manchester.
He top-scored for India in the first innings, engineering a 61-run knock off 151 deliveries in the first innings. However, the rest of the innings have been a silent affair for him. Even in his most recent outing during the first Test against the West Indies, Sudharsan was pinned in front of stumps by captain Roston Chase and returned cheaply on 7(19).
"I think he's under no illusion, and you can't hide away from the fact that you do fight for a spot in this environment. You know, you saw Karan Nair get four Test matches in England. There are a lot of good players sort of fighting at the heels of whoever has possession of that spot. So Sai just needs to focus on believing in himself. We've obviously got a lot of belief in him," Doeschate said in a press conference ahead of the second Test against the West Indies on Friday.
Sudharsan has made a total of four appearances and mustered up just 147 runs at 21.00 while striking at 40.83. While citing Karun Nair's example, who was handed four Tests in England, Doeschate highlighted that the management holds immense belief in Sudharsan's skill set.
"You know, to give him that number three spot. He's playing pretty nicely. Probably a tactical mistake the other day, which you'll be aware of, you know, playing back to the ball so early in an inning. And we just want him to go in there and just bat. We know he's good enough, and now he has to find a way to score runs and show the rest of the country and the rest of the team that he's good enough to hold that spot," he added.
While runs continue to elude the 23-year-old's bat, Doeschate doesn't hear warning alarms going off. The Dutchman pointed out that the constant breaks between the two Test series haven't helped Sudharsan's cause, but urged the youngster to carve his path.
"But certainly no panic or no worry, particularly in a winning team, you can absorb that. And a series like this is nice. We know he's going to get four knocks. Well, obviously, only one knock in the first Test, where he's going to get two Test matches to put his innings together. Yeah, probably a little bit early to be sort of worried or panic-stricken. You know, it doesn't help that you have five Test matches in the UK and then you wait six weeks to play the next Test match," Doeschate said.
"The same is going to happen now after this Test next week. We don't have a Test match for another three and a half weeks. So there's no sort of string of fixtures to get your rhythm and to get yourself going. But again, that is the nature of Test cricket in this era, and he has to find a way to do it. But yeah, I'm sure he does feel like he's got our backing, like he's got the captain's backing and the coaching staff's backing. And we feel he'll deliver on his promise very, very soon," he added.
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