When Washington Sundar opened up in the post-match presser of the first England-India ODI, he came across as a thinking cricketer: the all-rounder would take a pause or two, cogitate his thoughts, before sharing it across to the journalists. Something similar could be observed about his batting too. Right from his gutsy effort in the Gabba Test to the Old Trafford Test last year, and the Edgbaston ODI, he seems to showcase the required mindset to play according to the given situation.
Although India were never really behind in the Edgbaston ODI, there was time when the visitors seemed to be wading through a spot of bother. Josh Tongue castled KL Rahul and Shubman Gill had to walk back to the pavilion due to cramps. At that juncture, with the score reading 160 for 4, Washington and Axar Patel shared a hundred-plus stand to steer India home.
At one point of time, Washington was scoring at a strike rate of just around fifty. Washington then upped his strike rate to 82.53 while Axar’s strike rate was over 100. Somewhere it gives credence to the point that Washington can be a fine utility cricketer in ODIs, provided there are enough overs for him to get his eye in.
Despite Washington adding value to the ODI set-up, the detractors believe that the southpaw-batter doesn’t have the pyrotechnics to ramp up his strike rate in the slog overs. His strike rate in the death overs was 85.7 last year. This year, it has improved to some extent, as it presently stands at 114. Moreover, in his last seven ODIs, Washington has picked up a solitary wicket with his off-spin. Although his overall numbers are very decent: 30 wickets at 30.53.
In the presser, this is what Washington had to say about batting in different positions. “Obviously, I try my best to help the team win. It is exciting to be in different situations and different phases of the game.
“Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir, India head coach) always made me understand what exactly I could do with the bat, especially, and made me understand my game as well. Even Ashish Nehra at GT has always made sure… he has helped me understand myself a lot more, be it as a person or as a cricketer on the whole,” he added.
So, what to make of Washington Sundar, the limited-overs cricketer? Is he good enough to play across formats for the country? Going forward, Washington is set to be an integral part of the Test set-up. With Gautam Gambhir, the head coach, backing him to the hilt, the all-rounder is also expected to represent India in the other two versions of the game regularly.
Just that it is a tad difficult to imagine Washington succeeding with the bat in the shortest format of the game. In 50-over cricket, there is more space for Washington to showcase his skills but question marks remain over whether he brings enough value to the side. On a brighter note, the thinking cricketer has a sound temperament and it is naive to completely rule out Washington from proving his critics wrong.
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