India all-rounder Washington Sundar is clearly one of the earmarked players of the Gautam Gambhir era, being groomed as an all-format player after being fast-tracked into the setup over the past year. While there is no doubt that Sundar adds ample value with his skillset, there seems to be a certain air of confusion regarding his exact role in the side.
For context, Sundar was promoted to bat at No.3 during the opening Proteas Test while getting demoted to No.8 in the next game. Furthermore, as a bowling all-rounder, there have been times where he hasn’t been trusted enough with the ball, as was visible during his stints in England and now against South Africa.
The muddled role continued in the ongoing three-match ODIs against South Africa where he batted at No.5 in the first game but had to drop down to sixth in the next match with stand-in skipper KL Rahul deciding to promote himself. The constant shuffle reflected in Sundar’s performance as well, managing scores of 13 off 18 balls in Ranchi, and in Raipur, just 1 off 7.
Sundar’s application with the ball too has been limited, sending across only three and four overs in the 1st and 2nd ODIs, respectively. The decision to cap his bowling contribution came as a surprise since the combination of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja delivered 19 overs in Ranchi while Sundar was barely used in their defence of 359 runs in Raipur, which the Proteas ended up chasing.
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When quizzed on the same lines for clarity on Washi’s role, India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate highlighted that the dynamic all-rounder has been predominantly included in the side as a batter for the IND vs SA series and the matchups did not favour his bowling.
Speaking to the media on the eve of the IND vs SA 3rd ODI tomorrow (December 6), Doeschate said,
“As a finger spinner, you need the right match-ups against left-handers or right-handers. Washi is one of our six bowlers, and with Jadeja and Kuldeep also in the side, there are conditions where we will not bowl more than 20 overs of spin.”
Adding about Sundar’s batting, Ryan continued, “Washi is still learning when it comes to batting. Coming in during the late overs is a very specific role, and he knows what he wants to improve.”
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