"He is going to be one of India’s leading all-rounders" - Ravi Shastri opens up on Washington Sundar
The former head coach of Team India, Ravi Shastri has claimed that the Tamil Nadu all-rounder Washington Sundar is going to be the next future all-rounder for the Indian team.
The BCCI has announced the 18-member squad for the five-match T20I series and the team is going to be led by KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. In addition to that, they have also announced the squad for the upcoming India tour of England for the rescheduled Test match.
Unfortunately, Washington Sundar got a place neither in the T20I squad nor in the Test squad led by Rohit Sharma. Notably, Washington Sundar has been with the Indian team during the Test series against England last year. But a finger injury has made him warm the bench.
The youngster made his Test debut in an important match against Australia. That was a historic win for India as Australia were unbeaten at the Gabba, Brisbane where Ajinkya Rahane-led young Indian side defeated the giants in their backyard.
He has got to understand his own game: Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri has opened up about Washington Sundar in a recent interaction with ESPNCricinfo. "He is going to be one of India’s leading all-rounders. He is the future. You have [Ravindra] Jadeja today. Three years down the line, if Jadeja is still fit, he will play.
There is Axar [Patel] around. But this guy is your premier all-rounder across all three formats of the game. Hear what I am saying. Three formats of the game," Shastri was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
"This guy is a serious cricketer. He is still very young, he has got to understand his own game, how good a player he is. Shot selection will come, especially for the white-ball format.
[If he] works on his fitness so that he is not injury-prone, India have got a serious cricketer in him. Across all formats of the game," he added.
"I think it is up to him really to do the hard yards on fitness. No excuse. He can’t depend on X, Y, Z. He has to look at himself in the mirror and say I want to work hard and I want to be the leading all-rounder in Indian cricket over the next three years. And he can do it. Easy," he further added.