Powerplayer

Washington Sundar has had to endure a painful five months away from the game due to a finger injury but the lanky Tamil Nadu off-spinner says he used the forced break to get better as a cricketer as that was all he could control.

On Sunday, Sundar bowled early in the power-play, and he said the experience of the Vijay Hazare Trophy helped him. “That’s something I have been doing in the last few years. I enjoy bowling in the Powerplay now with the new ball.

“Even in Vijay Hazare, I bowled a lot with the new ball. All those experiences have definitely helped,” he added.

Washington missed out on the T20 World Cup but Ravichandran Ashwin’s underwhelming show in white-ball games and subsequent ouster brought him back in the mix as he made his international return with a 3/30 against West Indies in first ODI.

“There were a lot of challenges but I just wanted to do what I could do to improve myself as a cricketer and human being. That’s all that’s in my control and I was only focussing on that,” Washington said at the post-match press conference on Sunday.

Washington first missed the T20 World Cup and then Covid-19 played truant when he was about to board the flight to South Africa.

“Yes, there will always be challenges, that’s something that I have realised especially in the last couple of years.

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“But what matters is how I push myself, keep getting better at the aspects that I want to and keep improving myself as a cricketer. I’ve tried to focus on it and by doing that, that has kept me in good stead,” the young spinner elaborated.

Washington said there are two World Cups coming up, one T20 later this year and the ODI World Cup in 2023 and his focus will remain on those.

“It was 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.”

Now that he is back, Washington knows that the more games that he plays, the better and sharper he will become.

“More than anything, I have always wanted to be in the present and keep getting better as a cricketer.

“If I do that, there would be a lot of opportunities and also the fact that I would be able to perform a lot better. I have loved to stay in the present and enjoy the game,” he added.

India has a new white-ball captain in Rohit Sharma and Washington stressed that the Mumbaikar asks his bowlers to bowl to their strengths.

“He always wants bowlers to bowl to their strengths, not really get carried away with too much planning. He just asks us to stick to our strengths and execute every delivery accordingly,” the spinner added.