Washington Sundar at No. 3 suggests innovative thinking

Shamik Chakrabarty at Eden Gardens

The second ball of the match, Jasprit Bumrah running in from the Club House end, rolled along the surface and went for four byes. Rishabh Pant didn’t expect the grubber but he shouldn’t be blamed. The next delivery reared off a length and Aiden Markram handled the extra bounce well. The pitch for the first Test between India and South Africa here at Eden Gardens is going to be interesting as the match progresses. 

India pulled a rabbit out of the hat at the toss, when team sheets were exchanged. Washington Sundar at No. 3 at the expense of Sai Sudharsan was out of the common syllabus for the outsiders. From the team’s perspective, once Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill, the head coach and the skipper, decided to play an all-rounder in the form of Axar Patel, the team combination had to be tweaked. The straightforward option was to drop Kuldeep Yadav to accommodate Axar. Leaving out the left-arm wrist-spinner in Indian conditions, however, would have caused an uproar. It would have attested to the team management’s negative mindset. Eventually, the right call was made. 

In his last Ranji Trophy game for Tamil Nadu, against Delhi in October last year, Washington had scored 152, batting at No. 3. Tamil Nadu cricket has always looked at him as a batsman who can bowl off-spin. Over the past 12 months, during his stint with the Indian team, the 26-year-old has sharpened his spin-bowling skills, but at the heart of it, he is a batsman, compact enough to face the new ball. 

The team management looks at Sai as a long-term investment at No. 3. But this has been a horses-for-courses selection, which allowed India to play four spinners. “The pitch should be good for the first day or two, then turn will come in,” Gill said at the toss. The bottom line is that playing Kuldeep was a must on this pitch.