His all-round show might have tempted selectors to recall him to the national side, especially after India lost the first Test against New Zealand by eight wickets.
An off-spinner, recently impressing with the willow and ball in the Ranji Trophy, has been included in India’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand. The player is touted as a potential replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin, for he provides similar value in every department.
Washington Sundar, the off-spinner who is also a quality batter, has been called upon for the remaining Tests against New Zealand. He wasn’t in the squad initially but has been drafted due to his recent heroics against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy.
Getting promoted in the batting order, he batted at No.3 and scored 152 runs in 269 deliveries, including 19 boundaries and a maximum, for Tamil Nadu. His knock played a crucial role in taking Tamil Nadu to a whopping 674/6 in the first innings.
Later, he has also taken two wickets with the ball so far in Delhi’s first batting attempt, dismissing Harsh Tyagi and Pranav Rajuvanshi by the end of the day. His all-round show might have tempted selectors to recall him to the national side, especially after India lost the first Test against New Zealand by eight wickets.
Washington Sundar has not played a Test match for India since his last outing in 2021 against England in Ahmedabad. Overall, he has featured in four Tests for India, scoring 265 runs at an average of 66.25, including three fifties.
Further, he has also snared 6 wickets at an average of 49.83 in seven innings, with the best of 3/89. He played a crucial role in making India victorious during India’s tour of Australia, where he played a historic knock in Gabba.
With Ashwin ageing, Sundar will come into the setup at some stage in his career, and this series might be the right time to test his credentials, given his recent form has been quite good. It won’t be surprising if he finds a spot in the XI.
India are 1-0 behind in the three-match Test series against New Zealand. They will need to win both games, with the next game in Pune.
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