Jul 11, 2024 09:05 AM IST
Washington Sundar won player of the match for his performance with the ball in India’s third T20I against Zimbabwe
India’s ongoing tour of Zimbabwe has been touted as a glimpse into the team’s future in T20 cricket now that senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja have retired. While finding another Rohit or Kohli may be an improbable task considering the magnitude of what they have achieved in their careers, there are no problems with finding top-order batters to fill the opening positions that they have left vacant.
However, finding a spin-bowling all-rounder as dependable with both bat and ball as Jadeja is always a talent. While India already have another player of that kind in Axar Patel, Washington Sundar is also seen as a prime contender to replace Jadeja in that role. Sundar kept India in contention with the bat during their stunning defeat in the first T20I and was player of the match in the third with figures of 3/15.
“I need to do well where I am good at and what I am capable of, especially with my preparation. I need to give my 100 per cent every single day. That’s something that I have not compromised on,” Washington said in the post-match press when asked whether he is ready to seal the spot in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja.
‘Confident about my skills’
The 24-year-old has shown his potential to be a genuine all-rounder in all formats of the game. Sundar, in fact, has been far more succesfull with the bat than with ball in the four Test matches that he has played. Two of those were during India’s famous series win in Australia in 2020/21 where Sundar played a couple of crucial knocks. He was stranded on an unbeaten 96 in the last Test that he played in Ahmedabad against England in March 2021 and has scored three half-centuries in six Test innings.
Sundar said that he likes to stay focussed on his preparations. “It (preparing well) keeps me in the present and obviously I am very confident as well (about his skills). It’s a great opportunity for me to play for India, and I am blessed with it. I need to keep my job consistently and keep preparing and keep getting better. That way everything will be taken care of,” he said.
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