Washington Sundar Faces Crucial Phase in Career as Opportunities Open Up

Washington Sundar‘s journey in cricket has certainly been a rollercoaster ride since he made his white-ball debut against Sri Lanka in 2017. It’s been a tough road for him, as he’s had to miss five World Cups, not just due to injuries but also because of tough competition and sometimes just not performing well enough.

The only time he got to play a full season of the IPL was back in 2020 with Royal Challengers Bangalore. That year, he ended up with only eight wickets and a batting strike rate that many would consider lackluster. Fast forward to 2022, and there was a notable improvement in his batting, scoring at a strike rate of 146. However, yet another injury—this time a split webbing—came to disrupt his comeback.

In the IPL 2024 season, Sundar played just two matches without any runs to show for and managed only one wicket. This has raised many eyebrows, and people are starting to doubt his fitness and ability to seize the few chances he gets. In his absence, Nitish Kumar Reddy has taken the role of the go-to allrounder for Sunrisers Hyderabad, with a couple of other players getting picked ahead of him as bowlers.

Despite the setbacks, Washington’s remarkable Test debut at Gabba still works in his favor. He had an impressive performance there, bagging four wickets and scoring a crucial 62 runs in the first innings. This performance might have played a role in the management’s last-minute effort to include him in the squad for the T20 World Cup, despite his poor showing in IPL.

With Ravindra Jadeja announcing his retirement from T20Is and Ravichandran Ashwin seemingly out of the picture for the shorter format, Washington could find himself with a golden opportunity. But it’s clear that he must keep improving to make the most of this chance.

During the recent tour of Zimbabwe, Washington showcased his skills with the ball, taking eight wickets in five T20Is while maintaining a splendid economy rate of 5.16. This performance certainly makes a case for him as the team heads for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, where he might get a few more chances.

For India’s T20 setup, traditionally known for having eight reliable batters, there’s a delicate balance to strike between maintaining batting depth and having an effective off-spinner. Washington’s role now becomes even more crucial since the trend suggests teams are more likely to prefer left-arm spinners against predominately right-handed batters. With Axar Patel stepping up as the primary T20I allrounder after Jadeja’s retirement and Kuldeep Yadav being the go-to spinner, Washington needs to prove that he can be an effective off-spin allrounder.

If Zimbabwe was any indication, Washington seems to have sorted his bowling strategy. He effectively utilized his height to bowl with control, and also displayed the ability to give the ball air and generate turn during games in Harare. He mentioned that even though his IPL outing this year was disappointing, training back home in the TNCA first-division league helped him prepare for this series.

While Washington’s batting started off on a shaky note during the Zimbabwe series, he still has shown promise in other formats. However, T20 cricket demands a different level of creativity and aggressive play, which he hasn’t consistently delivered yet. With the management looking to experiment and reset the team, the coming tour of Sri Lanka could mark the beginning of a significant phase for Washington Sundar.