Usually, sports persons recover from side strain in 4-5 weeks, depending on the magnitude of the injury. Currently, India all-rounder Washington Sundar picked up one during the IND vs NZ 1st ODI, which could be a bit alarming for the side, given he is part of the T20 World Cup 2026, that is scheduled to begin on Feb 7.
That is only three weeks, and yet the Indian management took a great risk, sending him to bat, during the 301-run chase on Sunday. He struggled for almost 30 runs, ran a few with KL Rahul, and himself managed to score 7 from 7, when the team needed him the most. But the discomfort was visible, as he could barely run singles; doubles were out of question really.
Was it the right call to bat Washi in this situation? Perhaps there is no correct answer to this, but looking at the World Cup, a call should have been taken. Yes, winning the match was important, was now that puts a bit of a question mark, if he would be able to recover in time, till India play their first match on the opening day, against the USA?
What does Washington Sundar offer to T20I side?
He is one of those players, who doesn’t get you a lot of wickets, but certainly curtails the runs. In 58 matches, he has gone on to pick 51 wickets, at an economy of 6.91 only. Plus, he is the sort of batter, who doesn’t get much chances, but just manages to instill the confidence, that he could score runs. In 24 innings, he averages 17, and has a fifty to his name, at a strike-rate of 134.
Overall in T20s, his record is somewhat similar. In 159 matches, he has 118 wickets, at an economy of 7 only, and has also scored 1489 runs, at an average of 20 and with three fifties. So, all in all, a utility player, who could bat in any situation, and bowl in any situation of the match.
He is just about perfect fit for wickets, where the batsmen are having it easy, scoring boundaries in truck loads, and not giving a chance to the opposition, to make a mark in the match. To add to that, he is a solid fielder as well.
Mohammad Kaif question decision
Being a valuable asset to the team, even for India batter Kaif questioned the decision to send Washi to bat. He said on his Youtube channel, “You will remember when Shubman Gill was injured, he did not come out to bat in that Test match, the Kolkata Test. It was not a high-scoring game and people thought that even 20 or 30 runs from him could help India win, but he still did not bat.
“That was done to give full protection to the player so the injury would not aggravate. But the same approach was not applied with Sundar. That is why I feel it was a wrong call. KL Rahul’s running between the wickets was affected. Even though India won the match, I feel there were higher chances of aggravating the injury in yesterday’s game.”
Cricket
Bangladesh refuse to reconsider stance on relocation of T20 World Cup 2026 matches despite ICC's request
