Is Sai Sudharsan playing today’s ENG vs IND 2025 1st Test?

Young Sai Sudharsan is a part of the playing XI in today's first Test between England and India. The Test begins on Friday, June 20, and will be played at Headingley, Leeds. England host India for a five-match Test series. He is all set for his Test debut, as he was handed the cap by veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of the toss.

Sai Sudharsan did not feature in the two India A games against England Lions as he was playing in the IPL 2025 season for the Gujarat Titans (GT), who made it to the playoffs. Sudharsan had an excellent IPL 2025 season, scoring 759 runs from 15 games at an average of 49.80.

Sudharsan has not played a single Test for India and is yet to make his debut in the format. However, he has played three ODIs and a lone T20I for the country so far. The 23-year-old was seen playing the intra squad match that India had played a few days prior to the start of the first Test against England.

India XI for 1st Test against England:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.

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Sai Sudharsan's impressive first-class numbers and county stint

While Sai Sudharan has not played a single Test for India yet, the young left-hander has been impressive in first-class cricket. Playing for his state Tamil Nadu, he has featured in 29 first-class matches in his career so far.

He made his first-class debut in 2022 against Hyderabad. While he played only three matches in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season, he made 304 runs at an average of 76.00 with a hundred and a half-century.

Out of 49 innings, he has already piled on 1957 runs at an average of 39.93 with seven hundreds and five half-centuries. Sudharsan's consistent performances in the domestic circuit led to him earning an India call-up in Tests as well.

Moreover, Sai Sudharsan has also played county cricket previously, representing Surrey for two seasons. He played two matches in the 2023 season and scored 116 runs at an average of 38.66 with a top score of 73. In the 2024 season, he featured in three games and scored 165 runs with a century.