"Where Is Washington Sundar The Test player Being Looked At?" Dinesh Karthik's Blunt Question After 1st Test Loss
India's decision to promote all-rounder Washington Sundar to the No. 3 spot in their Test batting order against South Africa national cricket team has stirred up a debate about the impact on his bowling.
India's decision to promote all-rounder Washington Sundar to the No. 3 spot in their Test batting order against South Africa national cricket team has stirred up a debate about the impact on his bowling, with former national wicket-keeper batter Dinesh Karthik sounding a cautionary note. Sundar, in his first outing at No. 3 during the Kolkata Test, showed resilience with the bat but bowled just one over. Karthik believes this shift signals that the team management might be prioritising his batting, potentially jeopardising his role as a frontline spinner in the long run.
Sundar delivered scores of 29 in the first innings and 31 in the second, demonstrating his adaptability after being pushed up the order in place of Sai Sudharsan. However, his bowling account was almost non-existent only one over through the match despite possessing 35 Test wickets from his 16 appearances. This mismatch between batting role and bowling utilisation has prompted Karthik to question the strategic logic behind the move.
Karthik remarked: “Where is Washington Sundar the Test player being looked at? Is he a bowler who can bat? Now if you are sending him at three, you are almost telling him that he needs to focus a lot more on batting. The moment he starts spending those long hours for batting in practice, you tend to reduce your practice for bowling because it is physically impossible to be good at both.”
He further added: “So the message is very straightforward that we are looking at big runs from you. This could affect his bowling in the long run. It is a very tricky one.” In short, Karthik is worried that the promotion might blur Sundar's identity as a bowling all-rounder and thereby reduce his effectiveness with the ball.
Legendary former South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock also weighed in, saying Sundar deserves a solid run at No. 3 for four-five Tests to fully gauge the experiment. He felt Sundar has often been under-utilised. “Application is the right word… I always felt that he was under-utilised.”
Despite Sundar's gritty batting efforts, India fell short by 30 runs in the Kolkata Test. The loss now adds urgency to discussions around team balance, role clarity and long-term planning for players like Sundar.
Dinesh Karthik
India Cricket Team