MUMBAI: It’s not even been a year yet since
Washington Sundar – a name that’s as rare as have been his skills so far in limited-overs cricket – turned old enough to vote in the elections. At that young an age, most cricketers at best are likely to get busy finding their way into first-class cricket. Not Sundar. 18 going on 19, the Chennai-born finger-spinner could well go on to be part of India’s 50-over World Cup campaign in England next year.
ALSO READ: Finger spinners are relevant in limited-overs - SundarBetween now and May 2019, when time arrives for the World Cup to get underway, Sundar’s is a story that’ll have to be told at every opportunity he earns to walk into the playing XI. Between him and the wrist-spinning duo of
Yuzvendra Chahal and
Kuldeep Yadav lies the core of India’s slow-bowling arsenal, one that the Indian team management is working on to take on the global batting fraternity that still finds tackling spin a headache to deal with.
ALSO READ: Sundar youngest to play for India in T20IsBarely days before the Indian team was scheduled to take the flight to South Africa in December, for a series that would mark the beginning of a very challenging campaign to conclude over the next 18 months, coach Ravi Shastri had categorically underlined that there would still be some time to go before Team India settles for the core that can present itself for the marquee tournament next year. In that, he told TOI, there was still work to do and the tour of England this coming June would, in all probability, mark the beginning of the end of the search for an accomplished unit.
The time for that search to end has come, believes the team management. Barring the outcome of Mohammed Shami’s personal travails, one that the pacer has to fight for himself before he can return to where he rightfully belongs, the time has come for India to start building on the ‘core’ it has managed to put in place over the last eight to 10 months.
A total of 19 players – five in Tests, six in One-dayers and eight in T20Is – have debuted for India since October 2015, of which a staggering 16 players received their India caps since India’s tour of Sri Lanka last year. From all those debuts, two of the five Test caps introduced – Hardik Pandya and
Jasprit Bumrah – will remain part of India’s five-day team for some time to come; four of the six ODI caps – Pandya, Bumrah, Kuldeep, Shreyas Iyer and Sundar – have their tasks cut out going forward.
To add to this mix are India’s Under-19 World Cup winning stars Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill, batsmen who’ll continue to remain in the reckoning.
India captain Virat Kohli and Shastri have been of the firm belief that the World Cup campaign in England next year will only be as important as the challenge that lies in tours of England and Australia this year. And knowing the challenge ahead, the team’s search for the right balance is all the more specific. Kohli, for instance, wants individual attention on every spot in the playing eleven. Such is the focus he wants driven into the team core moving forward that the team should not be looking at playing a No. 4 batsman at No. 5 to make up for an absence due to form or injury.
Players who get the opportunity need to string in performances and convince that (the particular player) is meant to play at that spot (alone) in the team – that’s been Kohli’s philosophy for a while now, as he goes about with the task of putting the best foot forward.