The Gujarat Titans all-rounder wasn't given the ball in hand in the third T20I.
Being a T20I team with extreme quality, the Men in Blue have managed to pose more questions than answers with their selection of the playing XIs lately. India made three changes to their XI in the third T20I against Australia, with Washington Sundar coming in ahead of Rinku Singh. However, for anyone who watched the game, why Washington Sundar Did Not Bowl a Single Over remains to be a big question.
For many games now, the playing XI that the Indians have been selecting has sparked huge debates over social media, and amongst fans all over the world. Their excessive backing for Harshit Rana and the habit of benching players like Rinku Singh and Arshdeep Singh frequently have not sat well with the masses. The team chose to include Washington Sundar, Jitesh Sharma and Arshdeep Singh for the third T20I in Hobart.
However, as a matter of surprise, the off-spinning all-rounder was not given a single over by Suryakumar Yadav. Irrespective of the result of the game, it would go down as an extremely illogical tactic, with the likes of Rinku Singh on the bench. Why would one include Washington Sundar, just to make him bat – ahead of a proven finisher in Rinku?
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Out of the top six batters in the Australian line-up, only Travis Head is the left-hander. Hence, if the Indians would have thrown the ball towards Washington Sundar, it would have meant the ball coming into the right hander, making it easier for them to hit. However, Suryakumar Yadav went to Abhishek Sharma over Washington Sundar, in order to make sure that the ball goes away from the right-handers.
The tactic did not help at all, as the left-handed opener was smashed for 13 runs in the only over he bowled. The tactic of not bowling a right-arm off-spinner to right-handers seems to be followed too tightly by Gautam Gambhir and the management.
Having said that, Washington Sundar, as a bowler has the ability to generate a lot of drift behind the delivery, which could have helped. The conditions in Hobart were quite windy to say the least, and the spinner from Tamil Nadu would have come in handy with the ball in hand.
To add to that, it did not make sense for India to bench Rinku Singh, if they were always looking to keep Washington Sundar away from bowling duties. However, this can be a case of the Indians not reading the conditions and the opposition in order to determine their playing XI. With the number of right-handers in the Australian line-up, playing Rinku Singh instead of Washington would have added a lot more depth to their batting.
At the end of the day, the belief of bowling or not bowling right-handed off-spinners to right-handers cannot be tagged as right or wrong. But the team selection has to be in-sync with the same beliefs – something that the Men in Blue missed.
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