Indian allrounder Washington Sundar is set to join Team India in Sri Lanka ahead of the Asia Cup final in Colombo on Sunday.
Washington Sundar Set to Replace Axar Patel
Sundar is set to replace Axar Patel who sustained multiple injuries during the Super 4 clash against Bangladesh.
Axar has played in just two matches in the ongoing Asia Cup so far. He has scored 68 runs at an average of 34.00, with the best score of 42 against Bangladesh in the tournament. However, his effort went in vain during a run-chase of 266 runs against Bangladesh. He has also taken a wicket.
Axar Patel suffered multiple injuries during the last Super Four match against Bangladesh at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Friday, September 15. The left-handed batter hurt his hand while trying to save himself from a stumping opportunity after coming down the track.
However, the 29-year-old suffered another blow to his hand after facing a few balls. The all-rounder attempted a lofted shot off Mahedi Hasan’s bowling, but it fell short of the long-on fielder. Towhid Hridoy threw the ball to the non-striker’s end, hitting Axar’s hand.
Speaking after the match, Rohit Sharma lauded Axar Patel for his brilliant performance, emphasizing that the team had a chance of winning due to his crucial runs at the end.
“We wanted to give some game time to the guys, keeping the bigger picture in mind. Not compromising on how we wanted to play this game. Get in some players who are likely to play the World Cup. Axar batted brilliantly but couldn’t finish. He showed a lot of character. But credit to the Bangladesh bowlers.”
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“Gill’s hundred was brilliant. He backs his game, he knows exactly how he wants to play. Pretty clear on what he wants to do for the team. Look at his form over the last year. Pretty solid against the new ball. Works really hard, there’s no optional practice for Gill.”
Axar scored 42 runs off 34 balls while batting at the No. 8 position. He almost guided the team to victory but was dismissed when the team needed 12 runs off 9 balls. India lost the remaining wickets in the final overs and fell short of the target by six runs.
The Rohit Sharma-led team will face the Sri Lankan team, led by Dasun Shanaka, at the same venue on Sunday, September 17. Notably, the Men in Blue emerged as winners when the tournament was last played in the ODI format in 2018.
