India is going through a transition in Test cricket following the retirement of veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Shubman Gill has been appointed as the captain, and the results under him have been hot and cold so far. The squad also sees frequent changes under Head Coach Gautam Gambhir.
One prime example of this trend is the promotion of Washington Sundar to No. 3 against South Africa in the first Test of the series, which was played in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens.
Although he scored more runs than most of the other ‘established’ batsmen, former India wicket keeper-batsman, Dinesh Karthik, doesn’t seem to be a fan of this move.
Dinesh Karthik Concerned Over Sundar In Tests
Dinesh Karthik fears the player’s bowling could suffer if he focuses too much on batting. Here’s what he said on Cricbuzz after the match:
“Where is Washington Sundar the Test player, being looked at? Is he a bowler who can bat? Now if you are sending him at number three, then you almost are telling him, you need to focus a lot more on your batting. The moment you start spending extra time batting at number three, batting those long hours in practice, you tend to reduce your practice for bowling because it is physically impossible to be good at both.”
Karthik continued “If you are sending him in at number 3, the message is very, very straightforward, we are looking at big runs from you, we trust your technique, we really like you as a batter. So, this eventually could affect his bowling in the long run.“
Washington Sundar came into the national side primarily as a spin bowler, but didn’t take long to showcase that he could hold his own with the bat as well.
He has not only scored runs in the longest format in India, but overseas as well, and was promoted to the top order in India’s most recent Test outing
Sundar scored 29 off 82, and 31 off 92 in the two innings in a losing effort against South Africa. Whether he is sent to bat at the same spot again in the Guwahati Test later this week remains to be seen.
