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Former World Cup winner of India, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, raises doubts over the spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar ahead of India's second T20I against Ireland in the ongoing tour in the United Kingdom.
The team is expected to make some changes after conceding a shocking defeat against the lower-ranked team, Ireland. Ireland has the home advantage, but India, the multi-time T20 World Cup-winning side, had the supremacy ahead of the series.
India suffered its first-ever defeat against Ireland
The match on June 26 has changed a lot of equations as the hosts are leading the series by 1-0. Ahead of the second and final match of the bilateral contest, Srikkanth suggested the Indian team management drop Washington Sundar, as the spin bowling all-rounder has been struggling to produce anything significant for the team in this particular format.
Like most of the Indian players, Sundar also had a poor outing in Belfast on Friday. He flopped with the bat after conceding 19 runs in one over with the ball, in the first innings. As Washington Sundar did nothing impactful both with the bat and with the ball, the former India batter urged the Indian think tank to drop the all-rounder to allow the leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi.
Under the regime of head coach Gautam Gambhir, the Men in Blue brigade developed a reputation for leaning towards all-rounder-heavy playing combinations. As Sundar can do both bat and ball, he fits easily into the plans.
Should the team management drop Washington Sundar from the playing XI?
On paper, his skill set looks appropriate for the team, but in reality, his struggles are nothing new. Since the beginning of last year, he has taken only 4 wickets in 9 games. In the same duration, he scored only 20 runs at an average of 10 with a strike rate well under a hundred.
Krishnamachari Srikkanth stated that without Washington Sundar in the side, the batting depth would be a little bit thin, but with the addition of Ravi Bishnoi, the team would have extra strength in bowling.
“Washington Sundar is not necessary in the 11, just to have batting at No.8. He also doesn't have any role clarity. He is just throwing it flat now instead of bowling with dip because of the lack of confidence. It's doubtful he will play the next match. Probably, Ravi Bishnoi should replace him. But they also are adamant that they won't go with only seven batters,” Krishnamachari Srikkanth opined on his YouTube channel, Cheeky Cheeka.
Should Vaibhav Soooryavanshi play in the second match?
The former batter further added that ahead of the first match against Ireland, everyone was eagerly waiting to see Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in action. But he did not receive his debut cap. Srikkanth reckoned that, as there are too many top-class batters in the team, it will be hard for the team management to accommodate a slot for the 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the playing XI.
“Vaibhav Suryavanshi also should be playing, but it's hard to see who he can replace. The whole world was waiting to watch him yesterday on TV and in the stadium. But now that they've selected him, it's a big problem. You have to eventually play him in the 11, but I don't know how,” the former batter said.
