India vs West Indies second T20: Washington Sundar under the scanner

Youngster Washington Sundar will be under pressure when the scene shifts to Thiruvananthapuram for the second India-West Indies T20 on Sunday. The spinner endured a terrible game on Friday and his numbers this season are not praise-worthy.

Washington Sundar bowled three overs on Friday and conceded 34 runs at an economy of 11.33 without picking a wicket in the first T20- his most expensive spell in international cricket. He also dropped two relatively simple chances off Shimron Hetmyer and Kieron Pollard, both of whom plundered the Indian attack to escalate the problems for the youngster.

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However, Sundar’s performance should come as no surprise. He had a forgettable 2019 with the ball, as the numbers suggest. He has bowled 30 overs in nine T20Is this year and has picked only four wickets at a strike-rate of 45, the third-worst in 2019.

In the nine T20s that Sundar has played for India this year, he has not picked a wicket in five matches. When compared to other Indian bowlers’ performances in a calendar year, the 20-year-old has the worst average for anyone with at least four wickets.

Washington Sundar clawed his way into the Indian T20 side in late 2017 on the back of his excellent control and ability to hit the right lengths in the powerplay for Tamil Nadu in the domestic circuit and the now-defunct Pune franchise in the Indian T20 League. He replicated that for India but there is no doubt that this current period for him has been his most difficult.

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Sundar has played all of India’s six T20s in the home season- two against South Africa, three against Bangladesh and the first one against West Indies on Friday. In these games, he has picked just two wickets at a massive average of 82, easily his highest in any year of his Indian career.

While it is difficult to expect returns in every game from someone who is all of 20 years old, there are spinners of the ilk of Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya waiting in the wings to grab any slight slip-up from anyone in the playing XI.

Sundar does offer some solidity in the lower-order with his batting ability but if he cannot deliver on his primary skills as a bowler, he may find himself on the bench if he does not come up with a definitive performance soon.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks