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India continue their search for a reliable batter at no. 3 spot with Washington Sundar being the latest claimant.
Washington Sundar scored 29 and 31 during the two innings of the Kolkata Test. (AP Photo)
India seem to have moved on from B. Sai Sudharsan for the time being as the prime contender to succeed Cheteshwar Pujara at the No. 3 spot in their Test batting order. Since his debut in England earlier this year, Sudharsan hasn’t made a strong case for a long run after managing 273 runs across 9 innings at an average of 30.33.
India have also experimented with Karun Nair at the crucial spot, and he managed 111 runs across four innings. Now, they have turned their attention to all-rounder Washington Sundar, who has spent a major part of his India Test career batting in the lower order.
During the recent Kolkata Test between India and South Africa, Sundar batted at No. 3 in both the innings as the hosts lost the contest by 30 runs on a pitch that became increasingly challenging for the batters.
Sundar produced two gritty innings – 29 off 82 and 31 off 92 – giving an indication of his immense batting potential. However, former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik fears that a focus on batting may end up having a negative impact on Sundar’s off-spin bowling.Sundar has scored 821 runs from 27 innings at an average of 43.21, including a century and five fifties. With his off-spin bowling, he has picked up 35 scalps at an average of 30.34.
“Where is Washington Sundar the Test player being looked at? Is he a bowler who can bat? Now if you are sending him at three, you are almost telling him that he needs to focus a lot more on batting. The moment he starts spending those long hours for batting in practice, you tend to reduce your practice for bowling because it is physically impossible to be good at both,” Karthik said.
“So the message is very straightforward that we are looking for big runs from you. This could affect his bowling in the long run. It is a very tricky one,” he added.
India barely bowled Sundar during the contest despite Eden Gardens dishing out a spin-friendly surface. Across the two innings, he bowled just one over with India relying on the spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel.
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital…Read More
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital… Read More
November 18, 2025, 10:04 IST
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