Surrey have re-signed Indian batter Sai Sudharsan for their County Championship fixture against Essex this weekend, the club announced on Tuesday.
In a statement released on their website, the club's Director of Cricket Alec Stewart was quoted as saying, "We saw how good a player Sai is last year and we’re pleased to welcome him back into the group, where he fitted in perfectly.”
"I’m so excited to represent Surrey again," added Sudharsan. "I loved my time with the group last year and want to do my best to help the Club achieve more success. The Kia Oval is an incredible place to play cricket and I can’t wait to get back out there wearing the Three Feathers."
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Sai Sudharsan enjoyed a stint at Surrey in 2023, playing in the club's last two matches of the season against Northamptonshire and Hampshire as they lifted the County Championship trophy. After a single-figure score in his first outing in the middle, he impressed with 73 & 40 but could not prevent Surrey slipping to a 52-run defeat against Hampshire.
The left-hander represents Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket in India, and plays for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL). After scoring 397 runs at an average of 52 in IPL 2023, he made his India debut against South Africa in December, playing three ODIs and scoring 127 runs.
In the most recent IPL season, Sai Sudharsan racked up 527 runs in 12 innings, finishing sixth on the run-scorers list. Across 17 first-class matches in his career, he has scored 1118 runs at an average of 39 and strike rate of 55.
| Format | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
| First-class | 17 | 29 | 1118 | 38.6 | 54.6 |
| List A | 28 | 27 | 1396 | 60.7 | 95.6 |
| T20 | 43 | 43 | 1503 | 40.6 | 130.7 |
The batter was not otherwise occupied with cricket post the IPL in May, and was not picked in India's squad for their forthcoming T20I tour of Zimbabwe. Surrey take on Essex in a top-of-the table clash this weekend.
Following the Essex clash, Surrey will play in the T20 Blast, in which Sudharsan is not able to feature given the BCCI's policy of not allowing Indian players to play in overseas T20 competitions. Surrey's next non-T20 game is on July 25 in the One-Day Cup.
It is unclear how Sudharsan will fit into the Surrey XI. He was left on the bench to start with after joining up with the club in September 2023, and the London side's batting order is replete with talent. All but one of their top six in their ongoing game against Essex have played Test cricket for England, with Jamie Smith, the one uncapped player, regarded as one of the country's brightest young batting prospects. Surrey may choose to leave out a seamer in order to squeeze him in.
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