Former India spinner turned analyst Ravichandran Ashwin advised the team management to clarify Washington Sundar’s role in the ODI team and not leave him as well. Ashwin’s comments came after Sundar faced a second successive poor outing in the second ODI against South Africa in Raipur as well.
He has bowled only seven overs across the two matches with no wickets, whereas Sundar’s batting was not good either.

Talking about Washington Sundar’s role on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said, “Once you have decided to play Washington Sundar, you’ve to treat him as a bowler who can bat. You’ve to bowl out his overs. Only if he keeps bowling, he’ll have the mindset of a bowler who can bat. Otherwise if he just bats and bowls a few overs, he’ll keep searching who he is. So don’t leave him in the searching space. Instead, the team should arrive at giving him the proper role clarity.”

He further added, “India also didn’t finish well with the bat in both ODIs. Especially when you don’t have a finisher like Hardik Pandya, why didn’t a similarly powerful Nitish Kumar Reddy play? I am not sure if they are looking at Rishabh Pant as a finisher or not. India are not able to provide that finishing punch. So should an extra fast-bowling allrounder play instead of a spinning allrounder?”

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However, Ravichandran Ashwin also believes India’s bowling lacks the presence of veteran pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the ongoing South African series as well. He has also been rested for the ODI series, after the four home Tests against the West Indies and South Africa.

“We’ve lost quite a few bowlers in Tests and white-ball cricket. India have lost many experienced bowlers. And in all this, the punch point X-factor is Jasprit Bumrah. If tomorrow he is not a full-time member in the squad, India will have to score 30 to 40 extra runs in every match,” said Ashwin.

“Australia, South Africa and England will continue to chase scores down with the power component. India will produce classy batting but matching these teams in the power component is not going to be easy. With long levers and powerful big-hitting boys, if Bumrah isn’t there tomorrow, it’s going to totally rely on a bit of spin with Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav’s X-factor. Definitely, India’s bowling stocks are a little worrisome,” R Ashwin concluded.