Sai Sudharsan for Gujarat Titans - (Source: X.com)
In a significant development around Indian cricket, star batter Sai Sudharsan has fractured his rib cage and checked in at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) on December 29. The Gujarat Titans star suffered an injury during the Vijay Hazare Trophy and will take another 7-10 days to complete his recovery.
A report from Sportstak mentioned that Sai, who represents Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket, injured his rib after a fielding effort against Madhya Pradesh on December 26. Notably, Sai ignored the slight discomfort and continued with the net sessions. However, a few days after his on-field injury, the southpaw was hit at the same area in the net and rushed for a CT scan.
The reports confirmed that a small, undisplaced fracture to his right seventh rib, which led to Sai checking in at the CoE on December 29.
Is Sai Sudharsan’s injury a threat to the Gujarat Titans?
The fans are worried and curious about whether Sai’s injury will pose a threat to his IPL 2026 participation or not. Firstly, the report added that Sai will recover in 7-10 days, and the Gujarat Titans have nothing to worry about.
Sai is currently continuing his recovery with lower-body fitness and conditioning work, while his injured rib is kept protected to allow it to heal properly. Sai has been responding well to the programme so far. Upper-body training is expected to begin once the pain reduces over the next 7 to 10 days, after which he will slowly move into a planned upper-body strength and conditioning routine.
Sai to miss Vijay Hazare Trophy 2026 clashes
While there is no threat to Sai’s IPL 2026 participation, he is likely to miss Tamil Nadu’s next two Vijay Hazare Trophy 2026 games. So far, the 24-year-old has played two games and amassed 99 runs, averaging 49.50.
However, Tamil Nadu will next face Rajasthan on January 3 and Tripura on January 6. Therefore, Sai is unlikely to feature in these two matches because of his recent injury.
The Tamil Nadu state association has not released any update on the southpaw, but Sudharsan is not likely to return to action till January 8.
Sai Sudharsan in good touch ahead of IPL 2026
IPL 2025 was a tournament to remember for Sai Sudharsan, as the left-handed batter won the orange cap for scoring 759 runs in 15 innings. He averaged 54.21 and a strike-rate of 156.17. His IPL heroics helped him earn India Test call-up.
Sai struggled for runs with India as he scored just 140 runs in six innings in England and 29 runs in a solitary Test against the Proteas at home. However, in the latest events, Sai has regained his lost mojo and scored 192 runs in six innings in SMAT, averaging 38.40 and a strike-rate of 152.38.
As mentioned above, he was having a good Vijay Hazare Trophy as well and amassed 99 runs in two innings, which included a fifty-plus score. Therefore, it is gutting for Tamil Nadu to miss out on Sai’s services for their next two matches.
