Washington Sundar

In the second Test at Pune during India's home Test series against New Zealand in October 2024, Washington Sundar was a late addition to the squad but made an immediate impact by claiming career-best figures of 7 for 59 in New Zealand's first innings, effectively restricting them to 259 runs.

This performance was significant as it marked Washington Sundar's return to Test cricket after a hiatus of over three years. In the 2024 Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, Washington Sundar featured in three out of the five Tests, with a notable performance in the fourth Test at Melbourne. He scored a resilient 50, contributing significantly to India's lower-order resistance alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy, who scored a brilliant 114. Their 127-run partnership was instrumental in narrowing Australia's first-innings lead.

However, Washinton Sundar's overall impact in the series was limited. He scored 114 runs across six innings at an average of 22.80 and picked only three wickets at an average of 38.66.

Washington Sundar's story is one of those remarkable cricket tales where a young player seemed destined for greatness. His journey was a generational process—Washington was named after a gentleman named PD Washington, who had sponsored his father's cricket journey and ignited his passion for the sport.

Although PD Washington passed away just a few months before his namesake's birth, the love for cricket was already ingrained in him. Washington Sundar began playing the sport at a very young age, even before his 5th birthday, and made his First Class debut for Tamil Nadu just two days after turning 17.

Early career

Washington Sundar had begun his career as a classical left-handed batter, but it was by developing his right-arm off-spin that his value skyrocketed. In this process, he followed in the mould of Ravichandran Ashwin, who is recognised as one of the greatest Test spinners of all time, who too was a batter while growing up. It was a coincidence that when Ashwin had to drop out of the IPL in 2017, Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) drafted in his younger state-mate as replacement.

Washington Sundar's high release point and accurate bowling was suited to the shortest format as well as the captaincy of MS Dhoni, as RPS made the final and lost by a solitary run. Washington had one of the best economy rates in the tournament, bowling 30 overs across 11 matches and only conceding at 6.17 runs per over. This included a man-of-the-match performance in the first qualifier in that year’s playoffs, where he had fantastic figures of 3 for 16 against Mumbai Indians.

Washington Sundar would be awarded his debut in both white-ball formats later in the year against Sri Lanka, becoming the youngest ever debutant in the T20I format for the national team at 18 years and 80 days. He would go on to enjoy a strong run in the shortest format, where his economical bowling and ability to act as a floater in the batting lineup made him a valuable member.

Test debut

Washington Sundar has also exhibited the sort of technique and temperament that is necessary to crack the red ball game. Nevertheless, his debut at the international level in the Test format was a surprise. Having travelled to Australia as a net bowler for the famous 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Washington Sundar was pulled into the playing XI for the fifth and final Test at the Gabba — once again, replacing Ashwin, whose heroics had helped India pull off a draw in the previous Test match.

Washington Sundar shone with both ball and later bat in that match. His maiden Test wicket was that of Steve Smith, with the plan to dismiss him working to perfection. Later, with India struggling in their first innings, Washington Sundar scored a debut half-century, preventing a massive deficit. He would dismiss David Warner in the following innings, before adding 22 significant runs as India completed a famous series victory.

Washington Sundar has struggled with fitness and poor form in recent years, but continues to be a reliable and versatile option for his captains across formats. While the spin bowling allrounder niche has been a tough one to break into in recent years. Ravindra Jadeja's T20I retirement comes at a good time for the Tamil Nadu player, who might see this as a chance to hold on to a spot in the shortest format for the foreseeable future.