Cricket fans of a certain vintage would remember Greg Chappell trying to turn Irfan Pathan into a genuine all-rounder by getting him to bat in the top order. The move didn’t quite work out and the Aussie legend’s stint as India coach came to an end as he lost the support of the big names in the dressing room. Pathan subsequently lost his pace and place in the national side due to the confusion over his primary role in the team. Washington Sundar is an off-spinner, not a left-arm paceman – a rare commodity in Indian cricket – but the selectors and the teams he has been part of seem to be unsure if he’s a batsman who bowls a bit or a bowler capable of getting some useful runs. The thinking around him seems to be something like this: If India are struggling on dust bowls at home, call up Washington. If a Test match in England needs saving, send Washington. If there’s a top-order collapse, Washington is the crisis man. If a pitch needs an extra spinner, Washington is drafted in as he lengthens the batting line-up as well. But his all-round talent has brought him just 17 Tests in five years and 29 ODIs since his debut in December 2017. In the ongoing IPL, Washington’s franchise also seems unsure what to do with such a valuable resource. He has bowled 4.1 overs in three matches for Gujarat Titans, including none in the defeat to Rajasthan Royals. He came at No.5 in the first two games without much impact. In Wednesday’s game in Delhi, he came at No. 4 ahead of Glenn Phillips and responded with a 32-ball 55. Against Punjab Kings, Washington came in after 14 overs as the team was trying to set up a fighting score. In the game against Royals, the team was chasing a 200-plus total and he arrived with less than eight overs left. When he came onto the scene, Washington was seen as a quality bowler in the T20 format and was often employed in the Powerplay. In fact, he has dismissed Rohit Sharma three times in their face-offs in the IPL. But of late, Washington’s off-spin, which has potential due to his high release and stump-to-stump line, has become almost an afterthought. The last time he got more than two wickets in a Test match was at Lord’s in the middle of last year.Story continues below this ad He has also not managed to seal a particular spot in the line-up either. During the home series against South Africa, soon after he had scored a match-saving hundred in England batting at No. 5, Washington came in at No.3 in the first Test and No.8 in the next, even though he did quite well considering the abysmal performance of Indian batters. For a team that keeps a match-winner like Kuldeep Yadav on the bench for a full five-match series, one wonders whether Indian cricket knows what to do with an all-round asset such as Washington.
The Washington Sundar conundrum – Indian cricket, and his IPL franchise, have still not figured out what his exact role is
