Young Indian batter Sai Sudharsan has praised Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir for his steadfast encouragement and support during a challenging start to his Test career. Sudharsan revealed that Gambhir's repeated assurance helped him gather much-needed confidence. The promising star made his Test debut on the challenging England tour, scoring 140 runs at an average of 23.33 across the series. Recently, he scored only 7 runs in his only innings in the first Test against West Indies in Ahmedabad. Heading into the second and final Test in Delhi, he felt under pressure, but a detailed chat with Gautam Gambhir helped him overcome pressure.

"The support has been impeccable. After the first game in Ahmedabad, we were practicing at the Feroz Shah Kotla nets. As always, I was the last to come out of the nets. GG [Gambhir] sir called me and said, 'You are not getting desperate. You are one of the best players in the country. So do not think about any of the other things. Don't think that you have to score runs in this game or what will happen if you don't.' Sai Sudharsan said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"He told me, 'You will play.' The way he said that gave me so much confidence and freedom. I was trying to be more free and not think about external factors or the magnitude of things. But when you hear it from the head coach himself, the perspective and environment change drastically. "That helped me express myself better as well. Even in that game [2nd Test], I wasn't in a mindset just to get runs, I was in a mindset to fight and win for the team, to dominate for the team."

Sudharsan scored 87 and 39 runs in the second Test in Delhi as India swept the series 2-0. Those good innings gave Sudharsan huge confidence; however, he asserted that he does not want to carry the pressure of living up to some of India’s great past No. 3 batters.

"I take it game by game, inning by inning, look at the situation, and react as best as I can. Playing for India, there's so much competition. So many great cricketers who have done well, are doing well, and will continue to do well. I'm not looking at a spot to cement or thinking about securing a place. I'm playing for a reason and that is to win games and fight for my team. That's my mindset when I walk in," Sudharsan said.

"When I think about sealing a spot or playing for safety, I tend to go defensive and play for myself, which I definitely don't want to do. I look at it from a different perspective - to win one session at a time and make a difference there. Runs will be a byproduct of that process."