‘He’s not even half of Ashwin’: Mohammad Kaif unleashes harsh assessment on Washington Sundar’s skills

Washington Sundar’s place in the Indian cricket team has become a talking point due to his declining impact with the ball under Gautam Gambhir’s regime. Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has openly expressed his concerns over the way Washington Sundar has been used in recent months.

Despite Gautam Gambhir’s preference for big-hitting lineups and multi-skilled players, Sundar’s biggest strength is slipping away at the wrong time, as Kaif pointed out. While he gets regular chances, his bowling is nowhere near what India expects from a frontline spinner across all formats.

Washington Sundar will need to work a lot on his bowling: Mohammad Kaif

And even Washington Sundar’s batting form is not that impressive, especially in the white-ball format. The worrying signs became louder in the ongoing three-match ODI series against South Africa, where Sundar delivered just three overs in the first match and four in the second.

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The pressure mounted when Sundar also failed with the bat, scoring just 13 and 1 in the two ODIs against South Africa. With his batting not helping and his bowling biting, Kaif questioned Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar about what exactly his role is in the team.

Mohammad Kaif said in a video on his YouTube channel, “The management can answer for Washington’s role. He is not even half of Ashwin if we talk about skills as a spinner. Even in Tests and ODIs, under different captains, not one, but all of them have not given him full overs. When the game is tight, they go to Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. There is no confidence that he can pick wickets at any stage, as is the case with Kuldeep. He will have to work on his bowling a lot.”

Mohammad Kaif questions Washington Sundar’s role after bowling and batting failures

Kaif noted that Sundar’s ability to take wickets has diminished and the team’s attempt to make him contribute more with the bat only adds to the stress. He believes that the Indian off-spinner needs clarity on his key role and his main strength should be bowling and not batting.

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The former Indian batsman further explained, “First of all, his ability to take wickets is less, and now you want Sundar to bat and just put more pressure on him. It’s like he’s not a bowler or a batsman. Let him do one thing and give him a clear role. He can play the role of Axar Patel when he bats in the middle. That’s fine. But his main role is bowling. Batting is a bonus.”

Mohammad Kaif doubts Washington Sundar’s future

Kaif also said that Sundar needs to work hard on his variations and overall skills if he wants to have a long future with the Indian cricket team. Interestingly, the Indian team is all set to face South Africa in the third and final ODI on December 6 in Vizag.

He signed off by saying, “But if his bowling becomes poor, which is obvious because they are not giving any surrender, he will fall further behind in the bowling. He will have to work on his skills and variations as a bowler. If he wants to play for India longer, he has to improve his bowling.”