Washington Sundar is a brilliant young cricketer who has risen through the ranks of domestic cricket. The all-rounder has already established himself in India’s T20I setup and is widely regarded as the country’s next emerging star.
Career
Domestic Career
Sundar began his cricketing career as a member of Tamil Nadu’s domestic team. He played in 12 first-class matches, scoring 532 runs at a strike rate of 31.29 and taking 300 wickets at a strike rate of 26.93. On October 6, 2016, Washington made his first-class debut for Tamil Nadu in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy. In the 2017-2018 Ranji Trophy, he made his first-class century batting for Tamil Nadu against Tripura in October 2017.
IPL Career
After going unsold in 2017, Sundar joined the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant (2017) in April 2017 as a substitute for Ravichandran Ashwin, who was injured. Though Sundar was a substitution, he didn’t make MS Dhoni or the RPS feel the loss of their gun bowler. As the tournament came to a close, with the franchise reaching the finals, Washington had taken 8 wickets in 11 matches and was emerging as one of the tournament’s rising stars. Dhoni placed him in front of the bowling attack, at times using his whole four-over quota.
Washington Sundar was bought for Rs. 3.2 crores in the 2018 auctions by Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore. Sundar, on the other hand, has only played 10 games in the last two seasons, picking up 8 wickets and scoring 66 runs. For him, the 2020 season is expected to be a watershed moment.
International Career
On December 13, 2017, Washington Sundar received his first national call up for the series against Sri Lanka. He clean bowled Lahiru Thirimanne for his first wicket in international cricket. This was the match in which Rohit Sharma hit his third double century, leading India to a massive total of 392. In response, Sri Lanka collapsed for 251, and India won by 144 runs. Sundar has only played one One-Day International in his brief career.
On December 24, 2017, Sundar made his T20I debut for India against Sri Lanka. He was named to India’s squad for the 2018 Nidahas Trophy against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in March 2018. Many people lauded him for his economical bowling in the powerplay, where he scored less than 6 runs per over. During the series, he took his first three wickets, making him the youngest player in T20I history to do so. For his efforts, he was designated Player of the Series. He was recently picked for the New Zealand limited overs tour, where he played two T20Is but only managed to pick up one wicket in five overs.
Background
Washington Sundar was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on October 5, 1999. M Sundar, a cricketer who made the Tamil Nadu Ranji probables but did not make the final team, called him Washington in honour of his godfather, Mr. Washington, who would buy bats for him and pay his fees. At the age of 18 years and 80 days, Sundar became the youngest player to appear for India in T20Is.