 "Washington Sundar picked in Indian Test squad for these two reasons")
Washington Sundar is in good form, having recently scored 152 batting at No. 3 for Tamil Nadu in the ongoing Ranji Trophy tournament, still, his inclusion in India's squad for the second Test against New Zealand in Pune has raised some eyebrows. Sundar is still not seen as a full-time batter. So has he been picked to replace one of the spinners in the playing XI?
Who will Sundar replace in the playing XI?
While R Ashwin picked one wicket at the M Chinnaswamy in Bengaluru, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav took three each. Regardless, Sundar is not expected to replace either Ashwin or Jadeja in the lineup. He could be added to the lineup in place of Kuldeep or Mohammed Siraj depending on the conditions.
Read | Team India display grit at Chinnaswamy after 46 all out, but first Test proves a reality check
A report in the Indian Express states that Sundar was added to the squad at the behest of captain Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir. This also indicates that there’s a good chance Sundar could be used in Pune, replacing one of the bowlers. He, however, could also replace a batter.
The same news report says that one of the reasons Sundar was added is because the team management is worried about the batting form of a few players including KL Rahul. There’s also a chance that Shubman Gill, who missed the first Test due to stiff neck, may not recover in time and Rishabh Pant’s availability is also not clear after he injured his knee during the match.
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In such a case, if a late replacement is needed Sundar can come in handy.
Another point made in the report was that the team management wanted an off-spinner all-rounder in the squad as well.
Sundar’s Test record
Sundar has played 74 white-ball matches for India but only four Tests. His last Test match came in March 2021, a few months after his debut in Australia during the famous series win.
Overall he has six wickets and 265 runs in four Test matches. His batting average stands at 66.25 with a highest score of 96 not out.
India squad for 2nd Test: 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.
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