On Thursday, October 24, at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, Washington Sundar returned to the Test arena for the first time since March 2021 and immediately made an impression by taking seven wickets on Day 1 of the second Test between India and New Zealand.
In addition to recording his highest first-class cricket scores (7/59), the Tamil Nadu all-rounder topped the list of bowlers with the greatest numbers for India in the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Although some analysts questioned why he was chosen over more seasoned spinners like Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, Sanjay Manjrekar had defended his choice. With his brilliant showing of off-spin bowling, Sundar shook the New Zealand batsmen, confirming the management’s and selectors’ belief in him.
Even though Manjrekar commended Sundar’s outstanding bowling performance, which saw him dismiss the Kiwis for 259 on Day 1, the former India cricket player stated that it was too soon to think of the 25-year-old as Ravichandran Ashwin’s replacement.
“All you need are precise, quick spinners on a rough pitch. Spinners who bowl the ball fast, that is. And at that point, Kuldeep Yadav’s artistic abilities are not necessary. It made a lot of sense, and Washi has the advantage of being the fastest right now due of his higher release point, which allows him to bowl consistently at 95. It was also fairly accurate. The proper bowler, then. According to Sanjay Manjrekar, “there are really horses for courses, and India appears to have spinners for the kind, turning the spin is going to take.”
So far in the series against New Zealand, Ashwin has not been playing at his best. He went for 94 runs in 16 overs and took one wicket in the opening innings of the first Test. When the tourists had virtually chased down a 107-run target in the second innings, captain Rohit Sharma summoned him into the attack. Manjrekar, however, has stated that the veteran’s career is far from over and has supported him to recover well.
“I think it’s a little premature, especially in Indian conditions, because even though the returns weren’t great in that series against Bangladesh and the one before it, as well as in the first test, I don’t see a bowler whose end is near or you start sort of looking out for a replacement yet. “I believe it will have enough for a long time to come,” Manjrekar stated.
Although Washi has had a strong start, this is only one performance: Sanjay Manjrekar
Manjrekar noted that Sundar was accurate and fast, and that his small changes caused chaos because the surface already offered the spinners a lot.
“Washi has had a strong start, but this is only one performance. Really, what you need. Turning pitches, you know, even though it looks simple to get up and bowl. Then you question why the pitch doesn’t yield as much for foreign spinners. To acquire those wickets, you must possess the speed, accuracy, and slight variation like Washi displayed because the pitches will always be helpful. “There is promise in this game based on the one sample we’ve seen,” Manjrekar said.
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India ended Day 1 at 16/1 after dismissing New Zealand for 259, with Rohit being the only Indian wicket to be dismissed for a nine-ball duck. In the third over for India, he fell to Tim Southee.
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