The West Indies Test series will commence on October 2.
Washington Sundar has made an instant all-round impact for Hampshire in the County Championship against the defending champions, Surrey. The 25-year-old produced an exceptional all-round outing, taking three wickets and scoring a classy fifty at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on September 25.
He signed a two-match contract with Hampshire following his outstanding Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 in England. The southpaw had amassed 284 runs and took seven wickets, including a century in Manchester and a four-fer in the Lord’s Test.
Washington Sundar smashed a classy half-century at No.7 after wrapping up Surrey with a three-wicket haul. In his 3.2 overs, he conceded just five runs. The right-arm off-spinner castled Ollie Sykes (16 runs), Matthew Fisher (10), and his compatriot Rahul Chahar (17). His spell helped Hampshire to bowl out Surrey for a below-par first innings total of 147.
In reply, despite a decent start, Hampshire lost three quick wickets as they slipped down to 165/6 from 154/3. Washington Sundar came to his side’s rescue by emerging as the top scorer for the side. He took his time to read the surface, which had something to offer for bowlers. Once he was locked in, the left-hander started to play his shots to bring up his half-century off 89 balls.
However, he didn’t receive significant support from the tailenders as they lost the last four wickets for just 21 runs. Chahar took Washington’s wicket, hitting the final nail in the coffin. His knock was laced with five fours and two sixes.
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The upcoming tourney will be India’s first Test series at home without Ravichandran Ashwin, who retired as the nation’s second-highest wicket-taker across formats. Sundar has been added to the squad as India seek balance and depth to fill Ashwin’s void.
The Tamil Nadu all-rounder has already proved his mettle in his brief Test career, from a heroic fifty in the famous Gabba Test to an inspiring four-fer on English soil. His record with the bat and ball at home is also decent, with 270 runs and 18 wickets in five Tests. The team management will closely monitor his performance as Sundar faces competition from Axar Patel for the third spinner role in the playing XI.
The two-match Test series between India and West Indies begins on October 2 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium will host the second Test on October 10.
Shubman Gill (C), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, and Narayan Jagadeesan.
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