His all-round show might have tempted the selectors to call him up to the national team, especially after India lost the first Test against New Zealand by eight wickets.
An outstanding player, who recently impressed 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 possible replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin as he offers similar value in all departments.
Washington Sundar, the quality batsman, has been called up for the remaining Tests against New Zealand. He was not initially in the team but was selected due to his recent heroics against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy.
Moving up the batting order, he batted at number 3 and scored 152 runs off 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.
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Later, he also took two wickets with the ball so far in Delhi’s first batting attempt, dismissing Harsh Tyagi and Pranav Rajuvanshi late in the day. His all-round show might have tempted the selectors to call him up to the national team, especially after India lost the first Test against New Zealand by eight wickets.
Washington Sundar’s last Test outing came in 2021
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.
Furthermore, he has also caught 6 wickets at an average of 49.83 in seven innings, with the best being 3/89. He played a crucial role in India’s victory during India’s tour of Australia where he played a historic knock at the Gabba.
With Ashwin aging, Sundar will come into the set-up at some point in his career, and this series could be the right time to test his credentials given that his recent form has been quite good. It won’t be surprising if he finds a place 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 one being played in Pune.
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