IND v BAN: Washington Sundar is the player to watch, says Dean Jones

Former Australia cricketer Jones backed off-spinner Washington Sundar to do well against Bangladesh in the three-match T20I series starting on Sunday.

Washington Sundar in action at the Nidahas Trophy in 2018.

 

Washington Sundar has an intense supporter in Dean Jones. The 20-year-old Tamil Nadu off-spinner is the bowler to be watched in the eyes of former Australia star Jones in the upcoming India-Bangladesh T20 series starting here from November 3.

According to Jones, the variety in India’s bowling is a huge strength. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah in this series, India will have the opportunity to try and experiment with players and Jones believed, “Who is going to be his (Bumrah) partner bowling in the death when he returns. Is it going to be Khaleel (Ahmed) or will it be Deepak (Chahar). Or will they have Sundar opening the bowling. If any of them do well with bowling at the death, it will be good for the team.”

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Jones expected Sundar, who has played 12 T20Is, to excel in this series. “His economy rates have been fantastic in the past. Sundar has a very good record with the ball in the PowerPlay. I also want to see him do well with the bat and perform. So you can't drop him when Ravindra Jadeja comes back to the team. Sundar is going to be my player to watch,” said Jones, who will once again be the Select Dugout expert on Star Sports for the India-Bangladesh T20I and Test series.

Jones hoped that India would want a competitive series. “They need to think about the opposition well to avoid getting into trouble. Winning the toss is important but I am sure you don't want players who would think you lose the toss and you lose the match. It helps when you start thinking you can win from any position.”

The Australian, who figured in 52 Tests and 164 ODIs, insisted the series would launch India’s prepaqrations for the 2020 T20I World Cup to be played in Australia. He felt selecting the right team was very important as the World Cup is less than 12 month away. “They( World Cup) don't happen in a wink. You can't be trying to put a camp one month or one week before the World Cup starts. Sometimes it takes even two to three years to get the team ready for World Cup. I know Australia, if I can hark back, we were ranked as one of the worst teams (in 1997) coming into the 1999 World Cup. It took us two years for the players to learn and experience different conditions.”