Asia Cup 2023: Washington Sundar added as injury cover for Axar Patel ahead of the final - Reports

Axar Patel suffered a niggle in India's last Super Four game of Asia Cup 2023 against Bangladesh.

Just when Indian fans thought the team was over all the injury concerns before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 in India, A few concerns arose for them once again. Washington Sundar has been called in as cover for all-rounder Axar Patel for the Asia Cup 2023 final scheduled to be played at R Premadasa Cricket Stadium in Colombo. Sundar will be joining the Indian camp on Saturday as Axar Patel has got a niggle and could miss the final against Sri Lanka on Sunday. Sundar will fly to Colombo as soon as possible on Saturday and join the training session. 

Sundar to walk in as cover

Axar Patel had two brilliant batting performances in the Super 4 round against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the lower order that put team India in a challenging position. Patel has got a niggle and could miss out on Asia Cup final action on 17th September. Axar Patel was given the opportunity before entering into the World Cup 2023 on turning wickets and he impressed everyone with his batting. Now he will be replaced by another spin-all rounder Washington Sundar. Sundar was in contention for the World Cup 2023 squad but couldn’t make it. 

Washington Sundar bowls off-spin, that will provide a variation in the playing XI if he is given a chance in place of Axar to carry on with the three-spin option in Colombo. The other two options are left-arm spinners as Ravindra Jadeja and the Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav. They both have done a magnificent job as bowlers in the tournament. Sundar can also bat in the middle and lower order when needed. Just like Axar, Sundar also bats left-handed and can contribute immensely to the team’s score. 

Washington Sundar has played 16 ODIs in his career so far and picked up 16 wickets. With the bat, he has scored 233 runs in 9 innings with a half-century. He last represented India in the ODI format earlier this year against New Zealand in Indore. Apart from Axar Patel, middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer is also injured and not fully fit. BCCI put out a statement on Friday that Iyer has shown improvement in his back injury but is still not match-ready. Axar Patel and Shreyas Iyer are part of India's 15-member squad for the World Cup 2023.