From putting up an all-round performance (152 with the bat and 6/88 with the ball) in the Ranji Trophy in Delhi to playing a Test match after more than three years in Pune, Sundar has had a rollercoaster ride.
When Ravichandran Ashwin took the first three wickets for India in Pune, it was fitting that Washington Sundar got the remaining seven wickets to end New Zealand’s innings. It was the first time that two caught bowlers took all ten wickets for India in a Test innings, and the pair could not have been better. Ashwin and his possible successor in the future.
On a day with some help for the spinners from the first ball, Sundar didn’t really get instant rewards. He had to wait for his fourteenth over to draw first blood. But once he got his first wicket with a ripper in the first delivery of a new spell, Sundar only needed 61 balls to finish the innings.
Life has been that fast and eventful for him over the past week. From putting up an all-round performance (152 with the bat and 6/88 with the ball) in the Ranji Trophy in Delhi to playing a Test match after more than three years in Pune, Sundar has had a rollercoaster ride.
Remember that his selection in the XI was unexpected; Kuldeep had done nothing wrong to be benched, and even if the team wanted more batting depth, they had Axar Patel, a proven player with the bat.
All this time, Washington constantly chatted with Ashwin about plans and technicalities. He had a network session before the match, where he regularly tried to receive hints from the teacher. Even during the match, Ashwin guided him to bowl to the body and impart more pace after the ball softened, as Sundar revealed in the post-day press conference.
Sundar used his height to good effect and imparted more overspin, which naturally resulted in more bounce. Additionally, releasing his high arm also influenced hitting the bat higher. His control over his lengths was precise; A statistic published by a former Indian white-ball team analyst revealed that Sundar hit the 4-6 meter mark around 75% of the time during his spell.
But this will not be enough for him; the bar has been set very high since the emergence of Ashwin and Jadeja. All spinners must also contribute with the bat and be more than skillful. Chances of playing in the XI are only possible if the spinner has experience with the willow; The specialists are no longer there.
There is a reason why Kuldeep Yadav, a true wicket-taker, has played only 13 Test matches in a 7-year career. He has improved immensely with the willow recently and can score vital runs in the lower order, but the bar is set high again. Take Axar Patel for example; He is among the best spin players and can bat anywhere in the order with an average of 19.34 with the ball.
Do you remember people like Jayant Yadav from the past? Even he has a century of proof. So naturally, Sundar is expected to contribute with the bat, and there is potential, as shown by his First-Class average of 33.28.
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However, Sundar’s best batting value is when he bats down the order and sees himself as a top-order batsman. But he will have to bat in the lower-middle order in the Indian setup. Even if he replaces Ashwin in the long term, his batting position could be number 7.
That can be tricky, as hitters need to be as flexible as possible with that number to hit in different situations. Sundar has two centuries, making both 150s, but both came while batting in the top order, once opening and once at No. 3. Therefore, making such a drastic change will not be easy.
To Sundar’s credit, he has already shown flashes of brilliance during his knock against Australia at The Gabba and against England in Chennai in his young batting career. India were in a precarious position in both innings, with Sundar overcoming threats and weaving cautious knocks while batting with other lower-order batsmen. But his bowling was not convincing enough then.
He was still new and learning tricks to be a workhorse in the red-ball format. His bowling was primarily designed to suit white-ball formats, where he played at a certain pace, and mostly flatter defensive lines. That also happened when one or both of Ashwin-Jadeja were absent, but this late inclusion could be when he finally finds his feat as an all-rounder.
Soon, India will look for alternatives to replace the 38-year-old Ashwin. He has shown signs of regression lately, even if only in patches, and the team cannot ignore them since he will not be young again. Perhaps Sundar reflecting the best record of his career was not a mere coincidence.
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