Washington Sundar: Feels good to make my debut alongside Natarajan

From dedicated plans for Steve Smith to just the joy of playing red ball cricket at the highest level, Washington Sundar was pleased about a good day at the office in Brisbane.

Published : Jan 15, 2021 17:06 IST , CHENNAI

The all-rounder, known more for his exploits with the white ball in the T20 format, last played a first-class game in 2017 for Tamil Nadu.
The all-rounder, known more for his exploits with the white ball in the T20 format, last played a first-class game in 2017 for Tamil Nadu.
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The all-rounder, known more for his exploits with the white ball in the T20 format, last played a first-class game in 2017 for Tamil Nadu.

Friday happened to be a dream day for debutants Washington Sundar and T. Natarajan, two players not originally in the squad and were staying back just as net bowlers.

At stumps on day one, the duo from Tamil Nadu picked up three of the five wickets India took with Washington getting the key wicket of Steve Smith.

“It was a dream come true for me. I have to thank the management for asking me to stay through the Test series because I felt I can improve on my skill level both in batting and bowling by being here. Yes there was little nervousness but, it is an amazing opportunity to represent your country,” said Washington.

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The all-rounder, known more for his exploits with the white ball in the T20 format, last played a first-class game in 2017 for Tamil Nadu. When asked about if he had to change his preparation for the longer format, the 21-year-old said, “I have always felt my skill level is good with the red ball and I have bowled a lot of overs in first-class and First Division league in Chennai.”

“So I was waiting for the opportunity. The last few months here, I did get to bowl a lot of balls and got a chance to improve my skill levels here. So it was just more to do with quantity and, I didn’t have to change anything technically,” said the 21-year-old.

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The youngster also said that he had spoken to senior-pro Ravichandran Ashwin on how to tackle Steve Smith and was glad he could take the important wicket. “Yes, we had some plans for Smith but, I had to bowl good balls over and over again to get him out. I am glad that I got him and being my first wicket, it felt very good.”

On his fellow debutant, Washington was pleased for Natarajan who helped India get back into the game with his twin strikes in the last session. “Nattu (Natarajan) bowled well. He brought us back in the game. (Matthew) Wade and Marnus (Labuschagne) had a 120 odd-run partnership and, he took both of them out. It feels good to make my debut alongside him,” he added.

 

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