A year ago Washington Sundar had declared that he considered himself “a top-order batter” after scoring 152 against Delhi in a Ranji Trophy match.
His ambition was given a fresh lease of life by Gautam Gambhir when the all-rounder replaced Sai Sudharsan at No. 3 for the opening Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens.
Sacrificing a specialist batter can often be counter-productive, but Washington showed during his short vigil on Friday that he is up for the challenge.
Gambhir has often gone on record to say that he believes in giving players a longer run to avoid constant chopping and changing, though his actions hardly justify his thought process.
Sudharsan made 38 and 11 in the final Test in England and aggregated 140 in the three matches. He made 87 and 39 against the West Indies in India’s last match before the current series.
Karun Nair also featured at No. 3 in two Tests in England before the think-tank reposed their faith in Sudharsan. Nair has since been discarded by the Ajit Agarkar-led panel since they expected “a little bit more from him”.
The selectors have struggled to find a replacement after Cheteshwar Pujara was unceremoniously dumped after the World Test Championship final in 2023.
To be fair to Sudharsan, he has looked good in patches during his brief stint, but hasn’t been given the opportunity to settle down in that position.
Since assuming Test captaincy, Shubman Gill has made the No. 4 position his own, while KL Rahul has paired with Yashasvi Jaiswal as opener.
The think-tank also gambled with Devdutt Padikkal, Gill and Rahul at No. 3 during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
Is the latest move to promote Washington a well-thought-out process, or has it been done to accommodate Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI while not sacrificing on the batting?
There’s also no denying the fact that Washington’s batting heroics in England, including an unbeaten 101 in Manchester, were largely responsible for Gill’s team managing to draw the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
If the technically equipped Washington can settle into the role at No. 3, it
will allow the side to have the cushion of an extra spinner as witnessed at Eden Gardens.
Will Washington be allowed the freedom of a few failures? The team management needs to show patience to test his temperament and application.