Washington Sundar will make his comeback to international cricket with the upcoming Zimbabwe tour where India will take on the hosts for a series of 3 ODIs. The off-spinner has been excluded from India’s 15-man squad, plus the three standbys, for the Asia Cup in the UAE, starting August 27.
According to a report in Insidesport.in, it has already been communicated to Washington Sundar by the selectors that the all-rounder won’t be part of the main squad for the T20 World Cup and has been asked to first gain full fitness.
Ashwin will be part of T20 World Cup squad over Sundar
Senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who has made his comeback to the Indian T20I team last year at the T20 World Cup 2021, is earmarked to fly to Australia as the premier off-spinner. Sundar, though, could be taken as a back-up to Ashwin in the contingent for the T20 World Cup 2022.
“He is a great asset for India team. But at the moment, he needs to work on his fitness and wait for his chance. We have spoken to him about T20 World Cup. Ashwin will be preferred in Australia. Washington will be backup in case of injury in T20s for now,” a member of the selection committee told InsideSport.
Sundar had taken big strides in 2020 and 2021 with his performances in the IPL and for the Indian team, in particular on the previous Australian tour, followed by the home matches against England last year before the IPL.
However, since June, he has been away from the national side due to a spate of injuries and illness. He has missed a lot of games for India; in 2022, Sundar has only featured in three games for India – ODI series at home vs West Indies in February while missing plenty of series due to various injuries and covid.
In Sundar’s absence, R Ashwin has grabbed his opportunities with both hands: since returning to the T20 side in the T20 World Cup last year, Ashwin has picked up 12 wickets in 8 matches while conceding runs at a brilliant economy of 5.78. Also, his batting improvement was on show during the IPL 2022 for Rajasthan Royals.
Will Washington Sundar return to cricket?
Washington Sundar recently played a competitive level of cricket for the first time since the IPL in the County Championship and the Royal London Cup for Lancashire. He featured in 2 first-class games and 3 List-A matches making contributions with both bat and ball, including a five-wicket haul on his Lancashire CC debut.
