Sai Sudharsan withdraws from T20 World Cup 2026 opener race

Gujarat Titans (GT) young batting sensation Sai Sudharsan has made it clear that he is currently not eyeing a spot in the Indian T20I for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

The left-handed opening batsman Sai Sudharsan reckons that he has "a lot of things to improve" in his T20 game before he makes it to the India National Cricket Team for the World Cup.

Sai Sudharsan finishes his IPL 2025 campaign as the leading run-getter

Sudharsan had his best-ever campaign in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the ongoing season. He showcased sheer class while batting in the middle in almost every game and ended his campaign at the top of the Orange Cap list.

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From the very first match in IPL 2025, Sai Sudharsan looked in a classy touch, and throughout the competition, he kept batting brilliantly and impressed the cricket world.

Despite playing with a risk-free brand of cricket, Sudharsan maintained a high strike rate and played a vital role in the success of the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025.

He continued his purple patch in the Indian Premier League 2025 Eliminator against the Mumbai Indians in Mullanpur but was unable to steer his team to a win while chasing 229 runs.

The left-handed batter top-scored for his team with a sensational 80 runs off 49 balls, but he was castled by Richard Gleeson in the 16th over, and GT eventually lost the match.

Gujarat Titans bowed out of IPL 2025 with a loss in the Eliminator, and Sai Sudharsan finished with 759 runs in the competition at an average of 54.21 and a strike rate of 156.17, with one century and six fifties.

But I'm not thinking on those lines - Sai Sudharsan

Sai Sudharsan has already received his India debut caps in T20I and ODI cricket and is highly likely to make his Test debut in the upcoming England series. When he was asked about his chances for selection in the Indian team for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, he replied:

"I mean, playing for the country is obviously a dream for everybody, so I would love to do that. But I'm not thinking on those lines because if you see about the season, I have a lot of things to improve as a T20 batter.

"There are so many facets of the game or so many sectors I should improve when I play T20 again. So I'm focusing more on that. Of course, when I get an opportunity, I will give my best for the country."

The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February-March next year.

It's good to see that I had a good season - Sai Sudharsan

Sai Sudharsan further said that even though he is happy with the consistent run he had in IPL 2025, he hasn't achieved the ultimate satisfaction because the Gujarat Titans failed to capture their second IPL title. He said:

"It's good to see that I had a good season or I was consistent enough for my team, but I think when the job is not finished, you don't get the ultimate satisfaction when you get back home. So, definitely, there's a lot of disappointment in the environment because the way we played the first 12 or 13 games, which was fantastic to see as a group or as a team from outside.

"Even when in hindsight when you look at a season like this, I think our team was so good they did a lot of jobs really well. So finishing a tournament like this, definitely it doesn't give that complete satisfaction. But, yeah, appreciating the performances and of course learning from it is the is the thing forward."

Also Read: Watch: Ashish Nehra’s children, Shubman Gill’s sister cry uncontrollably after GT's Eliminator loss