It’s a race against time for Washington Sundar to be fit for the second Test against Sri Lanka that starts at the SSC on August 23, it is learnt. The all-rounder has been doing rehab at the BCCI ‘s Centre of Excellence (CoE) after sustaining a hamstring injury during the second ODI against England in Cardiff on July 16. He missed the final game of the three-match series and checked in at the CoE after returning to India.
On July 28, as the BCCI announced a 15-member squad for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka, Washington didn’t feature in the list. However, the press release mentioned: “Washington Sundar was not available for selection for the first Test.” The series opener is in Galle from August 15.
In the lead-up to the Test series, India suffered a couple of injury blows, with Jasprit Bumrah and then Sai Sudharsan being ruled out after failing to recover from their respective injuries. Bumrah has a left knee issue and the BCCI’s medical team at the CoE decided against rushing him back to action.
On Saturday, Sai, who was recovering from a toe injury, was declared unfit (an official release in this regard is expected) despite making good progress. In Bumrah’s case, the medical team didn’t want to take chances fearing that hurrying the process might see the great fast bowler break down again. As regards Sai, a significant recovery notwithstanding, he wasn’t 100 per cent.
The under-fire CoE ostensibly is not giving the go-ahead to ‘85-90 per cent fit’ players of late. So, on the face of it, Washington needs to be 100 per cent to be cleared to play the second Test. But there’s a catch. According to sources, with a dearth of resources plaguing India’s batting in red-ball cricket — the team under Gautam Gambhir as head coach has suffered back-to-back home Test series whitewashes against New Zealand and South Africa — players who have the right temperament to play spin on Sri Lankan turners are serious value additions. Washington is one of them.
Devdutt Padikkal is locked in at No. 3 in Sai’s absence. To bolster middle-order batting, the possibility of Washington being added to the squad solely as a batsman for the second Test is not ruled out, it is learnt. Then again, the southpaw will have to make enough recovery to present that option.
On Sunday, as VVS Laxman, the BCCI’s head of cricket at the CoE, spoke to the press, with cricket board secretary Devajit Saikia by his side, he sort of put down a marker while talking about Bumrah and Sai. The former India great made it clear that the BCCI/CoE didn’t want to be in a position where a player was picked and then recalled mid-series. He also said: “CoE is not merely a rehab centre. There are bigger roles to play in helping cricketers achieve excellence.”
Maybe, the days of ‘fitness’ wishy-washy are finally over.
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