As the second Test of New Zealand’s tour of India scheduled to take place in Pune on November 24 approaches, the Indian team made one more adjustment to the squad by bringing back Washington Sundar into the Test format after an extensive break.
Ryan Ten Doeschate who is an assistant coach of the Indian team explained the rationale behind the inclusion of all-rounder who has not played tests for India since March 2021.
According to Ten Doeschate, calling up Washington Sundar is “no violent panic” as would be the case but rather, enhancing the bowling options that would stretch the left-hand batting average of the Kiwis.
“Most certainly not. They (New Zealand) have four left-handed- batsman in the XI. Because we have had Washy in the white-ball squad for quite a time and we appreciate the way he performs. It is also good to see players getting rewarded for their performance in the Ranji Trophy too,” quoted the assistant coach according to PTI.
“This is where my point regarding possible rotation comes in. We just want to make sure we’re absolutely prepared for conditions here and if that does mean taking the ball away from the left-hander, we want that option,” he concluded.
Apart from that, Sundar has been scoring runs as well having made 152 runs for Tamil Nadu when he was sent for batting up the order facing Delhi in the latest Ranji Trophy match.
He has also proved his worth in going up against more adverse competition, this was the case when he played his first-ever Test match against Australia in Brisbane in 2021. The introduction of a third all-rounder will provide India with that third spin option but will also bolster their batting order that has failed in the first Test in Bengaluru.
After suffering defeat in the first Test in Bengaluru, India stands at a disadvantage of 0-1. This Test series is still open- and considering their undefeated series at home, all eyes will be on Rohit Sharma and Others to bring in their A+ game so that they can win the match and be back in contention in Pune.
The second Test is scheduled to take place from 24 to 28 October at the Maharashtra cricket ground in Pune. Speculations have indicated that the surface will be a slow turning wicket which may see Sundar coming in for Kuldeep as a proper bowling all rounder.
