Shamik Chakrabarty
September 2024, and India were playing against Bangladesh at Chepauk. It was India’s first Test under Gautam Gambhir as the head coach. Ravichandran Ashwin, along with Ravindra Jadeja, was in the middle of a rescue act from 144/6. Ashwin would go on to score a match-winning hundred, but the conversation in the press box between this correspondent and a senior cricket reporter of a national daily, a long-time friend, was about the veteran off-spinner’s future.
“The day Washington Sundar would start turning the ball, he would be in the side,” my friend and colleague had suggested. Eventually, we both agreed that Ashwin’s India days could well be numbered. After all, Gambhir has been brought in as an emissary of transition, never mind that he doesn’t like the word. As things turned out, Ashwin would play only five more Tests before retiring mid-tour in Australia.
Washington was drafted in after the first Test against New Zealand. And although India suffered a humiliating home series whitewash, the youngster came out with his reputation enhanced. He out-bowled and outperformed Ashwin and given that he has always been a very capable batsman, Gambhir wasn’t backing the wrong horse.
Having Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav in the ranks meant Washington’s opportunities were few and far between until the wheels of Old India came off. New India created their own never-say-die identity in England and Washington contributed to the extent of being recognised in the Indian dressing room as the ‘Impact Player of the Series’. As the team celebrated after the series-levelling victory at The Oval, Jadeja stood up and called out his junior: “Washi, aaja, ye le bete.” Washington wore the medal as a badge of honour and looked resplendent in the video shared by the BCCI.
It was a coming-of-age series for the 25-year-old, through his match-saving innings at Old Trafford and a match-winning one at The Oval. He played a brilliant hand at the Gabba in 2021 also, but in England, the boy became a man. He still doesn’t turn the ball square, but mesmerises the batsmen with his drift, as Ben Stokes would attest. The England captain was done in by the curve just before lunch on Day 5 at Edgbaston and it was the game-breaker.
Washington returned from Blighty with 284 runs at 47.33, presenting the team management with a serious option to promote him up the order in the home series against West Indies, followed by South Africa. In fact, he could be an excellent choice at No. 3. The left-hand batter plays in that position for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket.
A few changes are likely in the home Tests. The side will have an overload of spinners at the expense of a couple of fast bowlers. As far as batting is concerned, Shreyas Iyer is set to return to the fold in place of Karun Nair. Cricket has given the latter enough chances, but the 33-year-old looked a bit out of place as a batsman — he caught well at slips — at the top level.
Washington batting at No. 3 will allow India to go with four spinners — Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel being the other three — on home Bunsens, while the team will have proper batting until No. 8.
KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant (if he recovers from the metatarsal fracture, else Dhruv Jurel), Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj — the team looks perfectly balanced to complete a home-leg clean-sweep.
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news