Former Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik has cautioned India cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir against promoting Washington Sundar to number 3 in the long run. The all-rounder replaced Sai Sudharsan for the IND vs SA 1st Test and as a result, he was least used with the ball in the contest. Karthik has warned Gambhir that if he plans to pursue with Sundar at number 3, then it could impact his all-round skills.
‘It is a very tricky one’
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Karthik reckoned that by sending Sundar at number 3, Gambhir was asking the all-rounder to focus more on his batting than his bowling. He said that this could result in the Tamil Nadu star spending more time with the bat at practice than with the ball, which means it would be practically impossible for him to master the art of both. DK said that the expectations set by Gambhir to Sundar could affect his bowling in the wrong run and it be a tricky decision.
“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. 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,” Karthik said.
While Sundar was used for just one over with the ball in the IND vs SA 1st Test, he emerged as India’s best batter in Kolkata. In fact, he faced the most deliveries by a batter on either side in what was a very tricky surface at the Eden Gardens. With scores of 29 and 31, Sundar indeed proved his worth with the bat but was it worth it promoting him to number 3 and underutilizing him with the ball?
