Washington Sundar might have played just 12 Tests for India so far, but he has managed to leave a significant and lasting impression. With the bat, he averages 44.86, while with the ball, he has taken 32 wickets, including a seven-wicket haul last year.
However, the turning point in his career might have come on the final day of the Manchester Test against England, when he hit his maiden hundred, helping the visitors eke out an improbable draw.
Washington Sundar’s father, M Sundar, believes his son has been hard done by the selectors as his performances are constantly ignored and he is yet to get a consistent go in all three formats of the game.
When Sundar came out to bat on the final day, England had their tail up and there was a realistic chance of them gaining an unassailable lead in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. However, the 25-year-old had other plans, and he formed an unbeaten 203-run stand with Ravindra Jadeja to help India stay alive in the five-match series.
The youngster’s father believes everyone else continues to get a consistent run, but only his son doesn’t get the same treatment. It must be mentioned that Sundar didn’t make the playing XI for the series opener in Headingley. However, the management brought him into the lineup from the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Speaking to The Times of India, M Sundar said, “Washington has been doing very well consistently. However, people tend to avoid and forget his performances. Other players get regular chances, only my son doesn’t get them.”
“Washington should consistently bat at number five like he did in the second innings of the fourth Test and get five to ten straight chances. My son was surprisingly not picked for the first Test against England. The selectors should watch his performances,” he added.
‘My son gets dropped…’
Sundar also returned with a four-wicket haul in the second innings of the Lord’s Test, where he got the better of English batters. Sundar’s father reckons the former keeps getting dropped just after one or two failures, when this is not the case for other cricketers.
“My son gets dropped even if he fails in just one or two matches. It is not fair. Washington scored an unbeaten 85 on a rank turner in Chennai against England back in 2021 and 96* against the same opposition in Ahmedabad during the same year,” he said.
“He would have been dropped even if those two knocks had ended up in centuries. Has this kind of an approach been maintained for any other Indian cricketer? He has become very strong after all this, and the result is the performance which people are witnessing now,” he added.
Sundar’s father also discussed the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, saying even the Gujarat Titans played him sporadically and failed to give him a consistent run.
“Even his current team Gujarat Titans don’t give him regular chances. He showcased his calibre in the IPL 2025 Eliminator against Mumbai Indians (MI), smashing 48 off 24 balls,” said M Sundar.
“Look at the way Yashasvi Jaiswal has been backed by RR. Washington hasn’t been able to enjoy a consistent run even in case of domestic cricket,” he added.