Amid reports suggesting that Washington Sundar is in contention for his maiden India call-up for the upcoming three-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, the youngster has further boosted his chances by clearing the Yo-Yo endurance Test which has become a mandatory criterion for selection.
The Tamil Nadu youngster, who had impressed in this year’s IPL for Rising Pune Supergiant and also picked up an 11-wicket haul in this year’s Duleep Trophy final, had failed the test at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru in his previous attempt. As a result, he reportedly missed out on making it to the Indian team for the T20 series against Australia. However, the all-rounder did not flunk the test in his second attempt and ailed the qualification mark of 16.1. According to Sportstar, Sundar is now in line to get selected for the three-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, starting December 20.
“Having failed to get through last time, there was a lot of pressure on me on this occasion, even more than in a key game,” Washington was quoted as saying by Sportstar.
“This Yo Yo test was big for me but once it started all the pressure disappeared. I thought I paced myself well,” he added.
Explaining the reason behind his failure in the first attempt, Washington said:
“The last call for Yo Yo came very soon after the Duleep Trophy final in which I batted and bowled in both the innings. I had to rush to the NCA.”
“Perhaps I didn’t have enough time to recover for a physical test of this nature. This time I got more time after the Ranji game against Baroda. I was better prepared physically and mentally,” he added.
The highly-rated player further insisted that he learnt a lot from the Ranji season. In the current season, Washington has scored 315 runs including the 159-run knock against Tripura which was his maiden first-class ton.
“I learnt a lot during the Ranji season. I want to thank coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar and strength and conditioning coach Ramji Srinivasan for their belief in me and their inputs,” he said.
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