3 Reasons why Washington Sundar will be a good choice to replace Axar Patel if he gets ruled out of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023

Washington Sundar has replaced Axar Patel in India squad for the Asia Cup 2023 final.

Washington Sundar was called in as a replacement for Axar Patel in haste for Asia Cup 2023 finals in Colombo. Axar Patel suffered multiple niggles, and got ruled out of finals against Sri Lanka on Sunday. Axar Patel had a wonderful batting performance against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on turning wickets. Axar’s injury has raised concern over his prospects in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Official words are yet to come out, but Sundar being called in a rush has sent a lot of signals in Indian camp.

Axar Patel is part of the 15-members squad that will go into the mega event starting on October 5. The official statement is yet to come out on Axar Patel's injury, how grave it is, and how much time he will take to recover. Team India will have a 3 to 4-day break and then start their 3-match ODI series against Australia. In that case Axar Patel will miss out from squad due to his injury, Washington Sundar looks all set to take his place in Indian squad. Team India went in with two spin all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, and one front-line spinner, Kuldeep Yadav. Sundar will be a great choice to replace Axar Patel in the upcoming World Cup.

Why Sundar will be good replacement choice?

1. All-rounder, Like for Like replacement :

Axar and Washington Sundar are both spin all-rounders and have been around for a while with the national side. Washington Sundar will be a like-for-like replacement for Axar Patel. Off-spin bowler Sundar can play the role of a lower-order batter nicely while bowling a full 10 overs. In his two Asia Cup games, Axar Patel batted at No. 8 to give India a batting option in the end and also bowled 5 overs against Sri Lanka and 9 overs against Bangladesh.

2. Off-spin variety in the Spin department :

India’s 15-members squad carries three left-arm spinners as their spin attack for ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Left-arm spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are there, along with chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav. Axar moving out and Washington Sundar coming in will also bring variety to Indian playing XI. Sundar bowls off-spin, which can come in handy as this will give India a three-dimensional spin-bowling attack. He will also get a lot of assistance from Indian pitches.

3. Sundar can bowl in powerplay :

Washington Sundar’s economy rate in the T20I format has always been phenomenal. In his 37 T20I games for team India, Sundar bowled with an economy rate of 7.24 and picked up 29 wickets. In this format, he has bowled several overs in the power play. Along with the variety in the spin attack, Sundar can also provide an option to think outside the box. Washington Sundar can be unleashed on the power play against teams like Australia, England, New Zealand, and South Africa.