Washington Sundar’s father accuses BCCI selectors, India team management of bias: 'Other players get regular chances'

Washington Sundar’s father, M Sundar, has hit out at the Indian cricket team selectors for not giving “regular chances” to his son despite impressing consistently in the limited opportunities that have come his way. Washington’s latest impressive outing for India came in the recently-concluded fourth Test against England at Manchester, in which he scored an unbeaten hundred from the No.5 spot in Rishabh Pant’s absence as he helped India secure a memorable draw.

Promoted in the batting line-up, Washington grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he scored 101 not out and forged an unbeaten partnership of 203 runs with Ravindra Jadeja, besides taking two wickets in the match. Overall, the 25-year-old all-rounder has taken seven wickets in three matches of the series after missing the first game at Leeds. He has also scored 205 runs.

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Washington’s white-ball debut came in 2017 and his Test debut came in the famous Gabba Test in 2021, in which he took four wickets and scored a fifty in the first innings. Nonetheless, he has not featured consistently in any format so far, playing just 12 Tests, 23 ODIs and 54 T20Is.

Washington’s father accuses BCCI selectors of ignoring his son

Washington’s father, M Sundar, has now criticised the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors, accusing them of not giving regular chances to the all-rounder as compared to other players.

“Washington has been doing very well consistently. However, people tend to avoid and forget his performances. Other players get regular chances, only my son doesn’t get them. Washington should consistently bat at number five like he did in the second innings of the fourth Test and get five to ten straight chances. My son was surprisingly not picked for the first Test against England,” M Sundar told The Times of India.

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“My son gets dropped even if he fails in just one or two matches. It is not fair. Washington scored an unbeaten 85 on a rank turner in Chennai against England back in 2021 and 96* against the same opposition in Ahmedabad during the same year. He would have been dropped even if those two knocks had ended up in centuries.

“Had this kind of an approach been maintained for any other Indian cricketer? He has become very strong after all this and the result is the performance which people are witnessing now,” he added.

Sundar’s father also pointed out that Washington took eight wickets in the 2018 Nidahas Trophy, but has failed to get regular chances in the Indian team or at Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises.

“My son was very economical despite it being his first overseas tour. He was dropped for 11 straight matches by RCB in the next edition of the IPL, despite his quality performances. Can you imagine his mentality? Washington scored a 14-ball 40 in his first match for SRH during the IPL 2022 season. He was sent at number six in the next match,” he said.

“Even his current team (Gujarat Titans) don’t give him regular chances. He showcased his calibre in the IPL 2025 Eliminator against Mumbai Indians (MI), smashing 48 off 24 balls. Look at the way Yashasvi Jaiswal has been backed by RR. Washington hasn’t been able to enjoy a consistent run even in case of domestic cricket.”