Kolkata: This is a trying phase for Washington Sundar. On a dry, up and down Eden Gardens pitch, he was given only one over across two innings but had to bat out of his skin at No 3. He lost that spot at Guwahati while ending up bowling 48 overs in two innings. And now in the two ODIs so far, he has again been underbowled apart from being sent at the crucial middle order. The returns have been less than ordinary but blame for that can’t be squarely put on him. India need all-format allrounders, and in Washington, they see skills waiting to be honed. But that intent is being scuppered by the lack of clarity from the decision makers.
Take Nitish Kumar Reddy’s case. He played in both the Tests against West Indies because the thinktank apparently wanted to groom him at home as well and not just send him on tough overseas tours. But he didn’t bat in the first Test and bowled just four overs in the first innings. In the second Test he scored 43 but was not bowled in either of the two innings. Dropped for Kolkata because the pitch warranted a spin heavy attack, Reddy came back in the Guwahati Test, only to bowl 10 overs in the whole game and score 10 and 0.
Purely going by those numbers, Reddy has got nothing going for him but that again isn’t entirely his fault. Come the ODIs and predictably enough Reddy doesn’t even get picked in the two games, to which Ravichandran Ashwin said on his YouTube channel: “If we are not able to find a place for Nitish Kumar Reddy in a team that does not have Hardik Pandya, then there is something wrong in the squad selection, seriously.”
The significance of an allrounder can’t be overstated, especially in a setup like India’s where there is always an urgency to find an extra batter or two because lately the top order can’t be trusted with runs. As long as Ashwin and Jadeja bowled together at home, that need never rose thanks to their remarkable batting adaptability. But India have always struggled to find a decent seam bowling allrounder since Pandya’s recurring back problems prompted him to play mostly white-ball cricket, preferably T20. Vijay Shankar was tried, then came Shardul Thakur. Neither stayed long enough. Reddy is now in focus, but more urgent probably is the need to find a spin bowling allrounder given the T20 World Cup is barely two months away.
Washington fits fine in that formula so far, thanks largely to his batting. That 23-ball 49* against Australia in the Hobart T20I last month justifies the high billing he carries right now. But to wield that level of proficiency across other formats might take a while, said former chairman of selectors MSK Prasad. But only if he is given enough game time in both departments, said Prasad, giving the example of Axar Patel.
“If you see the sense of maturity whenever he (Axar) plays, he is even batting up the order. So, he has been groomed well,” Prasad told HT. “I think that’s one of the reasons why Jadeja also has opted out (of T20) because he has handed over the baton to a matured Axar now. But it took almost 5-6 years for Axar to establish himself. So, they (Washington and Reddy) are still a work in progress.”
Prasad maintains the key is to not underbowl them. “How does a bowler become mature? Only by bowling a number of overs. You can have a bad day, you can have a good day. The highs and lows will make a mature cricketer,” he said.
India head coach Gambhir said something on similar lines after the defeat in the Guwahati Test, stressing that Washington is “learning his trade. He is learning to bowl in different conditions, different situations.” Yet it can’t be forgotten how Washington’s off break bowling was completely ignored in the Kolkata Test.
The issue, however, lies in the selection process, feels Prasad. “What’s happening is, we identify all-rounders. But when they come to the team, they are either being considered as a bowler or as a batsman,” he said. Washington is getting a raw end of that deal, but Reddy essentially is being forced to bat well to maintain his position as allrounder. Prasad feels that needs to change. “See, someone who has got a 100 in Melbourne must be having some skill, right?.” he said.
“When you identify somebody as an all-rounder, then you might as well give him more opportunities to be groomed as an all-rounder. There are innings where he has not bowled a single over. In the last Test match, he bowled four or six overs (in the first innings), where the game had almost drifted away. He will only get better and better if you give him more overs, more opportunities.”
