Team India’s bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar has stated that being away from the game for an extended period due to injury was a challenging time for him. However, he added that he utilized the time to try and improve his skills as well.
The youngster missed out on the T20 World Cup 2021 due to a finger injury. He was ruled out of the South Africa ODIs after testing positive for COVID-19. On Sunday, he returned to the Indian side during the first ODI against West Indies. He finished with 3 for 30.
While reflecting on his time away from the game due to injury, Sundar shared his views at a post-match press conference: “There were a lot of challenges but I just wanted to do what I could do to improve myself as a cricketer. That’s all that’s in my control and I was only focusing on that. Yes, there will always be challenges, that’s something that I have realised especially in the last couple of years. But what matters is how I push myself, keep getting better at the aspects that I want to and keep improving myself. I’ve tried to focus on it.”
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He stated that missing out on the T20 World Cup in the UAE was very disappointing for him. At the same time, he shared that with two World Cups coming up, he can still get a chance to do well on the biggest of stages. Meanwhile, Sunday’s match against West Indies was his first international appearance since the white-ball series against England at home in March last year as well.
Sundar said: “It was very very disappointing to have lost out on a chance to play the World Cup. But yes, there are two World Cups in the next 15-16 months, so that should be my focus.”
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While the veteran leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (4/49) was the Player of the Match in India’s historic 1000th ODI, Washington Sundar also played an important role, where he removed Brandon King and Darren Bravo. He later returned to break the partnership between Jason Holder (57) and Fabian Allen (29) as well. While speaking about his impactful performance, he said that he kept things simple and bowled as per the plans. The second ODI of the three-match series will take place in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 9.
“I was just bowling to my strength and of course we had some plans for their batsmen. We just wanted to execute the plans and it was heartening to get off. I am happy that I could bowl to my strengths,” Washington Sundar concluded.
