In what has come as a surprising development, BCCI has included another spin-bowling all-rounder to the Indian Test squad for the ongoing three-match Test series against New Zealand. The player is none other than Washington Sundar, who just recently smashed 152 for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy. Sundar will join the Indian team in Pune and will be available for both the remaining Tests.
IND vs NZ: Does India really need Washington Sundar?
This comes a few hours after India lost their first home game against New Zealand in Tests after 36 years. The Indian spinners, especially Ravichandran Ashwin, had a rare bad match as he claimed just a solitary wicket in the entire Test. However, now that BCCI has actually added Sundar to the Indian squad, it opens up the possibility of resting Ashwin for the next Test match. The second clash is scheduled to take place at the MCA Stadium in Pune, starting from October 24. Meanwhile, the third Test will begin from November 1 at the stories Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. It must be noted that both of these venues in Maharashtra offer great bounce off the deck, something that can trouble the Kiwi batters while facing Sundar.
There is no doubt in Washington Sundar’s abilities, but India already have someone like Axar Patel waiting in the wings. However, as mentioned earlier, the sole reason for adding Sundar in the team could be to give rest to Ashwin, who bowled just two overs when India needed a miracle to win the Bengaluru Test match. Regardless, giving rest to Ashwin doesn’t seem ideal at the moment. The 38-year-old just had a forgettable Test match, and he is a fighting character who we know would come back to his best within the New Zealand series.
India’s updated squad for IND vs NZ Tests
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Washington Sundar.
Washington Sundar Test match stats
| Stats | |
|---|---|
| Matches | 4 |
| Innings | 6 |
| Runs | 265 |
| Batting Average | 66.25 |
| 50/100 | 3/0 |
| Wickets | 6 |
| Bowling Average | 49.83 |
| Best Bowling | 3/89 (innings) |
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