Shastri: Washington Sundar is India's "future"

  • May 23, 2022, 12:44 p.m.

Washington Sundar, who has not made it to any of the Indian squads named today, is a future all-format allrounder for India, former coach Ravi Shastri has said. Shastri was effusive in his praise for Washington, whose Test debut came under Shastri in the 2021 series-decider in Australia, where he helped India complete an unbelievable series win.

"He is going to be one of India's leading allrounders," Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo's analysis show T20 Time: Out. "He is the future." You have Ravindra Jadeja today. Three years down the line, if Jadeja is still fit, he will play. There is Axar [Patel] around. But this guy is your premier all-rounder across all three formats of the game. Hear what I am saying. three formats of the game.

"This guy is a serious cricketer." He is still very young. He has got to understand his own game, how good a player he is. Shot selection will come, especially for the white-ball format. India have got a serious cricketer in him if he works on his fitness so that he is not injury-prone. across all formats of the game. I think it is really up to him to do the hard yards in fitness. No excuses. He can't depend on X, Y, or Z. He has to look at himself in the mirror and say, "I want to work hard and I want to be the leading allrounder in Indian cricket over the next three years." And he can do it. Easy. "

Shastri said Washington, 22, was an easy fit in the Test side, but needed some work on his batting in T20s. "T20 is again a shot selection," Shastri said. "In Test cricket, he can occupy that No. 6 position in the future, 6 or 7. He bats, where he goes as the batting allrounder. Overseas, he can bowl you those overs in a specialist spinner's place and give that balance. In India, he can bat at no. 6. You are allowed to play two extra spinners. That's how important a player he is.

Washington Sundar takes the inventive route to send Kagiso Rabada for six•BCCI

"In T20 cricket, he can bowl. No problem with his bowling. It is just understanding which player, which lengths batting. It is his shot selection; the ability is there. Danny [Vettori] mentioned that he struck off [Kagiso] Rabada. How many people can hit that shot? I know Wankhede Stadium well. When it hits that top tier halfway through, on the off side, off a fast bowler, off the back foot, that is an unbelievable shot. The guy can play shots. When I saw that shot, I was thinking of the hook he played off Pat Cummins at the Gabba. We were chasing them. That shot went 10–15 rows back. This guy has the ability. He has to be properly groomed and educated on how good he is. Especially when it comes to shot selection. He is a serious cricketer, that kid."

Vettori, the co-panellist, said Washington needed more time in first-class cricket to become that No. 6 batter. "He sometimes has the technique of someone who doesn't back himself to hit the big balls," Vettori said. "You see how much room he gives himself and backs away." But Ravi is right; the skillset is there. He can actually stay still and still have the power to hit it. I have a question about someone like Jadeja, who has built his batting around first-class cricket. He has faced thousands and thousands of balls. Does Washington Sundar get enough first-class cricket to develop his batting?

"Because all the tailender batters who have grown from say No. 8 or No. 7 to a genuine No. 6, it is on the back of thousands and thousands of runs in domestic cricket. Jadeja is the best example. Maybe not running, but the opportunity. And if Washington is always in the white-ball team, always in the large squad, he may never get that opportunity. That will be to the detriment of his batting ability. "

Shastri said Washington needed not just first-class experience but in the upper middle order. "I had a chat with Washy when I was coach," Shastri said. "I said you can't bat later than No. 4 for your state." You are good enough at that level to get hundreds. You know what domestic cricket dishes out? There are a lot of people trying to occupy 1, 2, and 3, who are not good enough. Here is a bloke who bats at 6, on debut, gets a 70 against Australia, then gets a 90 against England to win us the series. These are serious innings under pressure. If you can do it for India, at that number, he has to bat for his state no later than 4, okay latest 5, but no later than that. "

Washington has played only 17 first-class matches, four of them Test matches. Even when he debuted for India, he had not played any first-class cricket in over three years. Since then, he is yet to play a first-class match for Tamil Nadu, but he also spends a lot of time touring with the Indian white-ball teams. The last 18 months have been tough for him, with an injury ruling him out of the T20 World Cup and then a split webbing in the middle of the IPL possibly costing him a shot at India selection.

Author : Rajdhani Delhi Representative

Rajdhani delhi representative

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