Veteran Indian cricketer, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan has spoken highly of young India all-rounder Washington Sundar, saying that he has a bright future ahead of him. Sundar has been one of India’s best all-rounders since he returned from the New Zealand trip. He made a blistering cameo appearance in the first ODI and followed it up with a fifty in the third match. While the left-hander may be pleased with his bowling performance in both ODIs against Bangladesh, he will be significantly less so with his batting.
According to Sivaramakrishnan, the Indian team management in India would have a large hand in determining how successful a career Sundar, a cricketer from Tamil Nadu, has on the international stage.
“Washington Sundar is the one for the future, boss. He can bat in any condition. You can depend on him to get runs. In fact, he can bat at No.5, maybe No.6. He can be somebody like Hardik Pandya. Once he is set, he can score at a pretty good strike rate. He is a very efficient player and can stabilise things in the middle order. He is capable of bowling 10 overs economically but he needs to work on his wicket-taking mindset. He is a genuine all-rounder. It’s how you nurture him that will decide his future in the Indian side,” he said in a select-media interaction organised by Sony Sports Network.
In a similar vein to his assessment of Hardik Pandya, Sivaramakrishnan believes Sundar can significantly strengthen India’s bench.
The ex-Indian leg-spinner also mentioned Sundar’s first-innings knock against Australia in Brisbane during his first Test. The towering all-rounder and Shardul Thakur put up 121 runs for the seventh wicket, which saved India. India’s first innings total of 336 was led by Sundar’s 62 runs, increasing the team’s score from 186 for 6. After Sundar had taken three key wickets in Australia’s first innings, including Steve Smith’s, he made this statement. India then won a historic game, making it two-Test series victories in a row in Australia.
