Making of B Sai Sudharsan, Test cap 317

Such was the impression Sai Sudharsan left that Badani did not wait too long to make sure the teenager played for his team. In the 2018 Tamil Nadu Premier League, Badani, head coach of Chepauk Super Gillies, signed Sai Sudharsan, who was barely 16, to play for his team. He might not have gotten a game, but that was his first taste of the big stage. The debut eventually came with Lyca Kovai Kings in 2021, but by then, he had become a different person altogether.Son of Usha Bharadwaj and R Bharadwaj — mother a state-level volleyball player who became his trainer, and father an athlete who competed at the 1993 SAFF Games — Sai Sudharsan had realised what it takes to get to the highest level during the pandemic. His work ethic, training and everything changed completely. “Earlier, I did not train with her. Everywhere I went, other players used to ask about my mother, who trained them. A few years ago, we started working together. She has sacrificed so much. I started knowing her value, and now even happier that I am working with her,” Sai Sudharsan had once told this daily.