IPL 2026 PBKS vs GT | Sai Sudharsan one of the hardest workers in the game: Titans batting coach Hayden

Gujarat Titans opener B. Sai Sudharsan’s batting in IPL 2025 was pure poetry in motion.

The southpaw was at his elegant best for a major part of the season and eventually scaled a peak when he bagged the Orange Cap for his 759-run effort.

But the 24-year-old is not resting on past laurels. In fact, Sai Sudharsan, in batting coach Matthew Hayden’s words, is going above and beyond to become better than the near-perfect player he was last term.

“It has been a privilege to watch him and Shubman Gill prepare,” Hayden showered praise on the Tamil Nadu batter.

“As Ricky Ponting said, you do not get better by doing less of something. Sai is a phenomenal example of that. Ponting was one of the hardest-working cricketers during my time. What Sai does would be two times of what Ponting ever did. Sai is one of those guys who has just embraced the evolution,” added the Australian.

Like Sai Sudharsan, his ‘partner in crime’ Gill is hungry to leave a lasting impression.

“Shubman is a very clear thinker of the game, and he brings in a lot of confidence. He also brings a bit of a swagger of the modern generation, which I really enjoy. He is shaping himself and his own destiny. But irrespective of the side he plays for, he is very unselfish,” Hayden said of India’s Test and ODI captain.

If Sai Sudharsan and Gill get going, the opposition bowlers may start scratching their heads.