India and Gujarat Titans (GT) all-rounder Washington Sundar recently recalled a message from his father that helped him during his IPL debut. He started his journey in the league with the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017 as well. Interestingly, Washington Sundar was not picked by them, but he later joined the team as a replacement player for Ravichandran Ashwin. He shared that his father had taught him to be courageous right from his childhood, which helped him during his IPL debut as well.

“I went as a replacement. I joined the team after 3-4 games. Then, they let me play immediately. That was a great opportunity and blessing. But, this courage I would say, came from my upbringing. That’s one thing I have always been asked to do, right from very young. Whatever I do, I have to do it with courage. My father has always brought me up in a way that I should be tough no matter what,” he said in an episode on ‘Cheeky Cheeka’.

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“That year, before IPL, we won Vijay Hazare and Deodhar Trophy. I bowled well in those two tournaments. And our coach was Rishikesh Kanedkar. He was RPSG’s assistant coach. So, as soon as the tournament was over, I used to be at home. Suddenly, one day, he called me. I think it was Ashwin (who was injured). He said they’re looking for a replacement. You come here. He called me and another person. I bowled for two days. They were happy. After that, I was with the team. Obviously, after two or three matches, I joined the team’s squad. It was a great story. Everything went well. And for me, I was able to play cricket and learn a lot,” he further added.

Washington Sundar opined on the faith MS Dhoni and Steve Smith showed in him during his debut IPL season as well. He also played 11 matches that year and claimed eight wickets at an average of 23.12 and an economy rate of
6.16 as well.

“He used to say, if you do this you’ll I’ll see success. That was literally the case. (MS) That was the case the whole season. Smith also had a lot of confidence in me. He gave me a lot of bowling in powerplay. The way he looked at me, I liked it a lot. He genuinely believed in me,” Washington Sundar concluded.