The bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar has been added to the India squad for the last two tests against New Zealand in Pune and Mumbai respectively.
Tamil Nadu-based cricketer has played four tests including victory at the Gabba in Brisbane. Ryan ten Doeschate has said that the decision to add a spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar for the second and third test against New Zealand is far from a ‘desperate’ measure.
He said that Sundar’s addition that the decision stems from a tactical need for bowlers who can turn the ball away from the left-handed batsmen in the New Zealand squad, which includes Key players like Tom Latham, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra.
“Definitely not a desperate measure. We have Axar Patel in the squad. We wanted to have someone who could take the ball away from the lefties. We want that option. It is good to see guys getting rewarded for the Ranji Trophy. We have a lot of faith in the spinners we have,” said ten Doeschate.
Sundar has been in fine form, recently delivering a standout performance in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024, playing for Tamil Nadu against Delhi, he smashed 152 runs off 269 balls including 19 fours and a six batting at position at no.3.
Sundar’s return to the test squad marks a major development in his career. Although he hasn’t featured in red-ball cricket since March 2021, has been a key figure in India’s memorable test series victory over Australia in the 2020-21 season.
Sundar scored 265 runs across four tests, including three half-centuries and took six wickets.
“I haven’t been out there myself yet, but rest assured we’re going to do everything in our capability to give the best assessment of that wicket. We got it slightly wrong in Bangalore the other day.”
“I don’t think it was a massive miss. The conditions just caught us on the back foot a little bit. So you can be sure that the preparation and the assessment of the wicket is going to be as close to perfect as we can make it,” said Doeschate.
He also spoke about the return of Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill for the second test. “Rishabh’s pretty good. I think Rohit touched on it the other day. He was having a little bit of discomfort at the end range of his movement with the knee. But fingers crossed he’ll be good to keep in the Test.”
He also explained the exclusion of Sarfaraz Ahmed and KL Rahul’s exclusion. “Yeah, there’s no point in sugarcoating it. There’s a fight for a spot. Sarfaraz was obviously brilliant in the last test.”
“I went to KL [Rahul] after the last Test and said, how many balls did you play and miss at? He didn’t play and miss at one ball and that’s what tends to happen when you’re not getting runs, he got the two balls in the game, one caught down the leg side and one that he managed to nick.”
Trailing the series 1-0, India will be aiming for a victory in the second and third tests to make their WTC finals journey more comfortable. The second test of the India-New Zealand test will be played on October 24 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
