Brisbane: Washington Sundar’s growing stature as one of India’s most versatile all-rounders was recognised when he received the ‘Impact Player of the Series’ medal following India’s 2-1 win in the T20I rubber in Australia.
In a behind-the-scenes video titled ‘Dressing Room BTS’ posted by the BCCI on Sunday, Sundar was all smiles as team operations manager Rahil Khaja presented him with the award.
“Coming over here and getting an opportunity to play in Australia is amazing, and to have contributed to the team’s victory makes me definitely happy,” said the 26-year-old Sundar after receiving the medal.
Sundar’s performances through the series underlined his value as a utility player in India’s T20I scheme of things.
In the third T20I at Hobart, though he was not used as a bowler, Sundar was promoted up the order and he top-scored with a match-winning 49 off 23 balls, striking four sixes and three boundaries to guide India to a five-wicket win that levelled the series 1-1.
Then, in the fourth game, he was held back with the ball until the death overs, but responded by taking three wickets in five deliveries across two overs, triggering an Australian collapse that secured India’s 48-run victory.
The win eventually helped the Suryakumar Yadav-led side seal the series 2-1 after the fifth match was washed out at the Gabba on Saturday.
Sundar also acknowledged the contribution of the team’s COO Khaja.
“It’s such a great feeling to get this medal from him. We know the kind of work he (Khaja) puts in every single day to make a lot of our jobs very easy,” he said.
An emotional Khaja, too, shared his delight: “I mean, the first time in my life… I’m just like, looking at this. Actually, we’ve done this.” Sundar’s overall T20I record from 57 matches is impressive. He has a bowling average of just over 22 with an economy under seven, and a batting strike rate exceeding 134.
An all-format player, he is also an utility man for Team India in the Tests, having taken 35 wickets from 15 matches with three four and one five-wicket hauls. He also has one century and five fifties while averaging 44.76.
The ‘Impact Player-of-the-Series’ is a relatively new honour introduced by the BCCI to recognise individuals who make decisive contributions in a bilateral series.
In the preceding ODI series against Australia in October, Indian stalwart Rohit Sharma had received the same award.
Rohit, who possibly played his last ODI series on Australian soil, finished as the top run-scorer with 202 runs in three matches, including an unbeaten century in the final ODI.
His stellar effort earned him both the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
