Washington Sundar finally breaks silence on receiving poor treatment from Shubman Gill

Young India National Cricket Team spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar has finally opened up on skipper Shubman Gill ignoring him in the Manchester Test.

Washington Sundar was one of the heroes of India's historic draw in the fourth Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at Old Trafford in Manchester.

Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar, Cheteshwar Pujara KICK Shardul Thakur out of India XI for Oval Test

SHORTS

View More

Your daily dose of cricket!

Loading...

Washington Sundar ignored for 68 overs

The 25-year-old Tamil Nadu all-rounder has received good backing from the Gautam Gambhir-led support staff, and he has time and again shown his all-round capabilities.

In the third Test match against England at Lord's in London, he delivered a game-changing spell with the ball in the third innings, returning with sensational bowling figures of 4/22.

Despite his heroics, Shubman Gill didn't trust Sundar enough in the Manchester Test and didn't introduce him in the attack for the first 68 overs at Old Trafford.

He was finally brought into the attack in the 69th over and got the important wickets of Ollie Pope and Harry Brook in quick succession. Talking about the lack of trust in Sundar, India bowling coach Morne Morkel said that it was solely skipper Shubman Gill's call.

I'm not giving any headlines this time - Washington Sundar

Speaking to the broadcasters after the match, Washington Sundar refused to reveal if Shubman Gill forgot to bowl him till the 69th over, but hinted that it wasn't actually the case.

Here is how the conversation unfolded in an interaction on Sky Sports (as quoted by Hindustan Times):

Broadcaster: Did your captain forget that you can bowl in the first innings?

Washington Sundar: I'm not giving any headlines this time, followed by laughter from himself, Stuart Broad and Nasser Hussain.

Stuart Broad: You need to work on your tips and hints out there. 'I'm loose, I'm ready to go (imitating warming up).

Broadcaster: You’ve got to catch his eye. You got to start looking at him [Shubman Gill]

Washington Sundar: Most of the times, I am around the square, so I'm sure I cross him every now and then. But yeah, whatever the team needs.

This Test hundred feels very special - Washington Sundar

Sundar hit his maiden Test hundred in the Manchester Test after refusing to shake hands with Ben Stokes and said the milestone felt very special to him.

"This Test hundred feels very special,” Sundar said in a conversation with Cheteshwar Pujara on JioHotstar. “I just wanted to fight for an entire day and that was the only message given to me by the coach (Gambhir).”

“I was anyway going to bat at No. 5. I was padded up for two sessions. I was very glad I got that opportunity. If I could bat higher up the order in future, it would be a blessing.”

He built a solid 203-run partnership in 334 balls with Ravindra Jadeja that played a crucial role in India drawing the match. While talking about the partnership, Sundar said:

“We just wanted to play to the merit of each delivery. The wicket was doing a bit. Building partnership was important. The first job was to see off the new ball. We wanted to let go of the thoughts of result and just concentrate on each and every delivery.”