While all the buzz for the IPL 2025 auction revolves around the likes of Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, and Shreyas Iyer, there are some buys who would be “smart.” Among those smart picks would be Washington Sundar, who has seen a meteoric rise in his stocks in recent times.
Day after day in the ongoing India vs. New Zealand Test series, he has been overshadowing his state partner Ravichandran Ashwin. Ever since making his Test return after three years, Sundar has been dishing out ‘Ati-sundar’ performances, taking 15 wickets at an immaculate average of 13.07 in the series so far. While he has garnered interest from several IPL teams (as far as rumours are concerned), Mumbai Indians (MI) could be the one franchise that should do everything to buy Sundar.
Mumbai Indians desperately need a spin-bowling all-rounder
While the Mumbai Indians (MI) have been synonymous with their star-studded batters, one player who was underrated for them was Krunal Pandya. The senior Pandya won three IPL titles in six seasons with MI. He made over 1,100 runs at a SR close to 139, coupled with 51 wickets at a frugal economy rate of 7.3. It would be fair to say that ever since Krunal left, the five-time champions have been devoided of a quality spin-bowling option.
A spin-bowling all-rounder who can contribute significantly with both bat and ball has been missing from their squad. For India, Sundar taken 16 wickets at 12.75 and is going under 6/per over this year. During these matches, he’s got only five chances to bat, of which he’s remained unbeaten thrice and scored over 25 the other two times.
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Wankhede Stadium, perfect for Washington Sundar?
One of Sundar’s biggest strengths is his height. At 6’1″, he can generate significant bounce and extract extra bounce from the Wankhede Stadium pitch. This is particularly important in the Indian Premier League, where the pitches tend to be flat and quick. Sundar’s height allows him to bowl a fuller length and trouble the batters with bounce and turn.
Moreover, Sundar is a batter who likes the ball to come to his bat. Hence, the fast nature of the Wankhede pitch would prove beneficial to him.
With Jasprit Bumrah leading the pace attack (since years), MI desperately need spin bowlers to complement him. Sundar, with his ability to bowl accurate and economical spells, can be a perfect partner for Bumrah. His wicket-taking ability and ability to control the run-rate make him a superb asset. Moreover, Mumbai Indians have tried a lot of tweakers in recent times but the same has been their biggest problem. Hence, Sundar could be the missing piece for the Mumbai Indians. If MI can manage to get Sundar on their team, it could be a match made in heaven. He’s a talented cricketer with a lot of potential and age (25) on his side as well.
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