Calling his maiden ODI call-up an ‘amazing moment’, Washington Sundar has said he is ready to deliver at the highest stage of the game. Before the latest call-up, he also got included in the T20I squad for the series against the Islanders.
The 18-year old was included in the squad at the last moment after Kedar Jadhav got ruled out of the Sri Lanka series with a hamstring injury. The latest call-up has only made the year more memorable for Washington who has not looked back since impressing in this year’s Indian Premier League.
“An ODI call-up at this stage of my career feels great, and it’s an amazing moment for me. As a professional cricketer, you need to be always prepared for whatever opportunity which you get. I have been gearing up for the T20 series at the NCA. I need to tune myself on the mental front slightly from T20s to 50-overs cricket. And I’m ready for the challenge,” Washington was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Washington shot to limelight after impressing for Rising Pune Supergiant. He was signed up by the franchise as an injury replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin and repaid the faith by taking 11 wickets in nine games at an average of 12 and an impressive economy rate of only 5.54.
He also impressed in this year’s Duleep Trophy and continued the same form in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, where he has scored 315 runs so including the 159-run knock against Tripura which was his maiden first-class ton in addition to picking up 12 wickets.
He also had a good outing in the warm-up game against Australia where he took two for 23 in his eight overs, dismissing Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell.
Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Tamil Nadu coach and Rising Pune Supergiant, who had suggested Washington’s name to the Pune management, also said the youngster has the ‘match-winning ability’ to excel at the highest stage of the game.
“There are some people who impress in the nets, but they may not be able to transform that potential in a match situation. But I always felt Washington had that match-winning ability. He had that spark. He has the knack of delivering at the crunch time and is capable of pulling off things when it’s needed most. He remains unfazed by star names in the opposite ranks,” he said.
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