Posts Tagged ‘Washington Sundar’
- In: Australia | Cricket and Sports | Cricket League | India | Teams | Test | test cricket | Test match | Tests | Virat Kohli
- Leave a Comment
On Day 3 of this on going Test match after India had conceded 445 to the opposition, India found themselves 6/2 in their first dig. Out walked India’s most celebrated and revered cricketer over the past 2 decades to the crease to join a solid looking KL Rahul. The day so far had been marred by rain and it was certain that India wouldn’t have to face too many overs. You would expect a batter of the caliber of Virat Kohli to try and help India to salvage something to probably try to end the day with no further loss of wickets.
There were only 17 overs possible on the rain affected day for India to bat and India promptly found themselves are 51/4 on the back of yet another top order collapse. Virat Kohli as he so often does nicks one behind the wicket to get out for yet another low score. The fans of the great player might point out to the Perth innings but again at the moment it does seem an anomaly rather than a sign of a player getting back to his best. Rohit Sharma who had a great chance to redeem himself in partnership with KL Rahul on the fourth morning gets out once again to a lose shot leaving India reeling at 74/5.
I have nothing but respect for both Virat and Rohit for everything they have done for the Indian Test team over the past decade but there comes a time when all good things should come to an end. Virat at the end of the day/night Test against Bangladesh on the 24th November 2019 was on top of the world. In 84 Tests at the time, Virat had 7202 runs at an impressive average of 54.97 with 27 Test hundreds. He was on the path to Test greatness and no one doubted that it was going to happen. After that series though Virat has been in a slump which can only be described as something unprecedented. In 37 Tests after that game against Bangladesh, Virat has 1964 runs at an average of 31.67 with only 3 further hundreds. His overall career average has now dropped to 47.49 and unless he has a brilliant last 5 innings in this series, he might not get an opportunity to get to 10,000 Test runs.
Rohit on the other hand isn’t in the same class as Virat in Tests. He established himself in Tests way later than Virat did but again for few years did exceedingly well at the top of the batting order. In 26 Tests since 2019 as an opener Rohit scored 2097 at an average of 51 with 7 hundreds. His batting especially at home against spin was brilliant and he also scored a crucial hundred in India’s Test win in England. Rohit’s slump in comparison to Virat hasn’t been for too long but again it does feel that it will be hard for both these players to get out of this and actually have a career in this format.
Test cricket is a thankless format and which even someone as great as Sachin Tendulkar found during the last 2 years of his career. India are going through a transition of sorts not to dissimilar to the one which they went through under MS Dhoni in 2013-2015. After the retirement of the greats a new crop of cricketers went through 2 years where except for one Test win at Lord’s lost all overseas games but ended up forming a core for years to come. The team under Virat from 2015 was unbeatable at home and also was good enough to win overseas. The Indian team is at the similar crossroads at the moment and it is time to move forward with the young team to build for the future.
The initial results might not be the best but India need to look ahead to the future and build a team which may equal what Virat’s team did for over 5 years. Jasprit Bumrah showed that he is capable of leading the team well and India should probably let him do the same. Rohit has been a very good white ball captain but Test cricket does not seem to be his cup of tea. Over the past few months the one thing which is noticeable with his captaincy is that he runs out of ideas when things don’t go his way which is not that different from what MS Dhoni was criticised for as a Test captain.
India have enough talent at their disposal to build for the future. The future of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin is also under question as both are in the wrong side of 30’s and do not have too many years ahead of them. Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel are waiting in the wings and I am sure with enough game time they can do a great great job. The team management need to make some tough calls and should have honest conversations with all the senior players. No player is bigger than the game itself and the longer the management waits to make the changes the difficult it becomes. India as a team is still one of the best in the world and this is the time to ring in the changes in Tests.
The fans are extremely grateful and love the legends of the game but again there comes a time when the team’s needs has to be put first. Thanks to Virat, Rohit, Ashwin and Jadeja for their incredible services to the Indian Team but we need to look to the next phase of Test team. I feel the Australian series would be the right time to bid farewell to the greats. India aren’t going to make it to the WTC final next year which means it would be a fresh start for the team under a new captain and young players.
- In: Cricket | Cricket and Sports | General Lunch Time talk | India | New Zealand | Teams | Test | test cricket | Test match
- Leave a Comment
The Gabba Test of 2021 is part of the India cricket folklore and one name that springs to mind immediately after Rishabh Pant when we think of that game is Washington Sundar. Sundar who was picked for that tour out of obscurity only because he was an off-spinning all-rounder had no business playing that Test. Indian bowlers were already doing well and Ravichandran Ashwin was already out bowling Nathan Lyon in that series. But again fate would have a different plan for Sundar as Ashwin was ruled out of the final Test at the Gabba and the former got a surprise call to take his place.
Sundar who hadn’t played a single FC game since 2017 was an interesting selection. His selection was based on his ability to bat and bowl decent off-spin. Him being a like for like backup for Ashwin was the only reason for his selection. Everyone knew that Sundar was a great talent but there were question marks regarding his bowling prowess at least in the longer format. His FC record with the bat and ball wasn’t that impressive. In a way it was lucky for him that India bowled first in that Test which gave him a feel of Test cricket before he would bat couple of days later. Washington Sundar himself had a good bowling innings on his debut accounting for Steve Smith, Cameron Green and Nathan Lyon in his economical 31 overs spell. His spell was crucial as the Gabba wicket mostly known for helping pacers had nothing in it for him. His eventual spell of 3/89 was a crucial contribution in restricting Australian batting to just 369 in the first innings.
His major test though came a day later with the bat in hand. He walked into bat at the fall of the fifth wicket to join Rishabh Pant who once again was looking good at the middle. For a batter who hadn’t played too many FC games the striking feature of his debut was that how assured he looked against the experienced Aussie bowling line up. Soon after his arrival, Rishabh Pant departed leaving India still 183 runs behind. Sundar’s partnership with Shardul Thakur paved the way for a great comeback for the visitors and eventually winning the game on the 5th day.
Sundar in his innings of 62 showed great composure and technique in the middle. He wasn’t faced by the reputation of the Australian bowlers either. He did play an important cameo in the second innings as well aiding the chase. With great technique and temperament India seemed to have found a very good middle order bat. In the home series against England that followed Sundar continued to score runs and at the end of it was averaging 66.25 with the bat in Tests. His bowling was a work in progress but with the bat he had already showed that he belonged at that level. When everything was going right for him with his Test career an injury ruled him out of the England tour later that year and he was nowhere to be see in whites again after that.
The success in the Tests meant that Sundar started playing more FC cricket which in a way helped his comeback into the Indian team for the New Zealand series. Sundar has had an immediate impact on his return with a brilliant spell of spin bowling with figures of 7/59 on Day 1 which helped India restrict New Zealand to just 258 in their first innings. His bowling seems to have improved but again on an aiding Pune wicket everything needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. One thing that needs to be taken into account is that he surely has worked on his bowling as against England in 2021 on similar helpful wickets he was nowhere as good as yesterday. This bodes well for India as Sundar is an accomplished batter and if his bowling can continue to improve he can be the replacement India have been waiting for when the legendary Ravi Ashwin eventually calls it a day.
This has been a great comeback for the southpaw from Tamil Nadu but again he himself would know that he has a long way to go still. For India’s sake though we hope he continues to improve and perform as we all know how fantastic his temperament is. India would surely benefit having a player like him along with Rishabh Pant in the Test middle order. Congratulations once again to Washington Sundar on an incredible comeback and we hope this is just a start to an incredible Test career.
- In: BCCI | Cricket and Sports | cricket world cup | India | IPL | ODI | ODI | Teams | Test | Virat Kohli
- Leave a Comment
2023 is an important year of all teams as they prepare for the marquee event. Every series and every game is viewed as preparation of the major tournament and to iron out flaws with the team combination. India is no different. In 2022 the biggest criticism the Indian team received was that they tinkered with the team combination too much. The team tried to play too many games and by trying to use their enormous talent pool, they just created too many versions of the same LO team. The result was there to see as India struggled to come up with one proper T20 side and the confusion caused an unbalanced team for the World Cup once again.
This is not the first time India have done something like this, the 2021 T20 WC and the 2019 ODI WC were products of the same confusion which led to confusing team selections in important games. So far in 2023 India seems to have steered clear of such confusions. The selectors and team management seem to be displaying much clearer thinking than the past years and it is showing with some consistent selections in this format. Even though there are a few spots still to be confirmed the skeleton of the team looks much more consistent that in 2019.
India were never going to be challenged against a struggling Sri Lanka team at home but again the focus was as to how the team was going to perform and if they can be ruthless. The answer to that question was provided by a very clinical and ruthless win at Thiruvananthapuram last night. The batting on a pitch which isn’t considered as the best in India was phenomenal and the bowling capped off a perfect day for the home team. The biggest positive for India other than Virat Kohli is the faith shown by the team management on Shubman Gill as the opener. Gill has been brilliant over the last year or so and for sure deserved a chance to partner Rohit Sharma in this format. He showed why ODI is his best format once again by scoring 207 runs in the series with a century and a fifty.
The biggest positive for India in regards to the batting is the form of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli has been in tremendous white ball form for the past few months and the fact that he is scoring hundreds again should please both the fans and the management. Virat Kohli scoring runs at number 3 is a huge boost for the Indian top order. Rohit Sharma as well has looked in great nick since he made his comeback after injury. He has been aggressive at the top and will be disappointed to not convert those starts into a big one. Rohit seems to have formed a great partnership with Shubman Gill and hope India do not tinker with that combination.
The other big positive for India has been the consistent selection of the bowling attack. Mohammed Siraj has once again proven that he is India’s best LO bowler presently. He swings the new ball and picks wickets in the power play which is what India lacked in white ball formats. Mohammed Shami is a question mark still but he has been decent with the ball. India also will be happy with the performance of Umran Malik, who has bowled with lots of pace and has picked wickets in the middle overs. Hardik Pandya has looked good as well even though he did not pick too many wickets. Kuldeep Yadav making a comeback and picking wickets again is a huge plus for the Indian bowling attack as wickets in the middle overs will be crucial in the world cup.
There are still a few things the Indian team needs to iron out. KL Rahul despite his very good 60 odd not out is still a question mark as he hasn’t been that consistent over the last year or so. The selection of Surya Kumar Yadav is also another thing India needs to address as he is an impact player in white ball formats. Ishan Kishen who scored a double hundred in his last ODI game also needs to be in the picture as he provides a left-hand option at the top of the order. While India do need to try out different combinations in the lead up to the World Cup it is imperative that India decide on their best XI as well. Jasprit Bumrah will return soon and so will Ravindra Jadeja and India would need to pick the right attach for the tournament.
Right now as far as the pace attack goes only Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah are a lock for the WC playing XI. Hardik Pandya will be the pace bowling all-rounder but again India need to pick from a host of pacers for the rest of the spots. Mohammed Shami has been patchy and his fitness is a huge issue. Arshdeep Singh provides India with a left-arm variation but again he hasn’t played too may ODIs. Umran Malik has been brilliant with his express pace and needs to be persisted with. So quite a few headaches for the Indian team management. The spin combination also needs to be finalised with 3 finger-spinners probably vying for two spots in the squad. Washington Sundar & Axar Patel are probably fighting for one spot in the squad as Ravindra Jadeja when fit will walk into the playing XI. Chahal & Kuldeep will mostly be the two wrist spinners as India haven’t tried too many others in recent times.
India will need to avoid the mistakes of their previous selection debacles and make sure that right people are selected in the WC squad. This series for sure has provided India will a great insight as to who those players might be but again the team management should make sure that there isn’t too much of chopping and changing of the core players to maintain the consistency ahead of the tournament.
girisopinion
My Thoughts 