"The moment he starts spending..."- Dinesh Karthik says batting at no.3 spot could hamper Washington Sundar's bowling

Washington Sundar looked solid with the bat at three in the first IND vs SA test.

Dinesh Karthik, ex-India keeper-batter, has sounded a warning bell for Washington Sundar, that batting this high in the Indian batting order might put pressure on him and might also affect his bowling skills.

The next contender in the ongoing musical chairs for the Indian test team’s third position was Washington Sundar. The left-hander was the new number three after India lost to South Africa in the first Test in Kolkata, following the performances of Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan in the England series and the recent match against the West Indies.

Gautam Gambhir and company decided to drop Sai Sudharsan from the starting lineup and move Sundar up to number three in an effort to play four spinners and a large number of all-rounders. When India folded for 93 in the chase of 124 runs, Sundar performed admirably, scoring 29 in 82 balls in the first innings and top-scoring with 31 in 92 balls in the second.

On the other hand, former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik advised against placing Sundar at number three in the long run.

According to Karthik, Sundar’s bowling load will naturally lessen as he is forced to focus more on his batting, even during practice sessions.

“Where is Washington Sundar, the Test player, being looked at? Is he a bowler who can bat? Now if you are sending him at three, you are almost telling him that he needs to focus a lot more on batting. The moment he starts spending those long hours batting in practice, you tend to reduce your practice for bowling because it is physically impossible to be good at both.

“So, the message is very straightforward that we are looking at big runs from you. This could affect his bowling in the long run. It is a very tricky one,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

With 2090 runs at an average of 34.26 in 45 games, three hundreds, eleven fifties, and a top score of 159, Sundar has impressive stats in FC cricket. In FC cricket, he has also claimed 98 wickets.

“He deserves a run”—Shaun Pollock in favour of Washington Sundar batting at no. 3 spot

Sundar’s calmness with the bat at his new place in the Indian top order was also praised by South African pace great Shaun Pollock.

In his brief career, Sundar has performed admirably, capturing 35 wickets with a best performance of 7/59 in 16 tests and scoring 821 runs with one century and five fifties at an average of 43.21.

“Application is the right word. I think he will still work out his game plan for how he wants to pace his innings at three and when he wants to be positive or aggressive. But he deserves a run. So, you keep him in that position, give him another four or five test matches, and see how he goes.

“If things don’t pan out well, then you can maybe look to make a change. I always felt that he was underutilized. They probably could have had a look at him a bit more. But as far as the batting goes, there is nothing wrong with his application. He will work out more as he goes along,” remarked Pollock.

It remains to be seen whether Sundar will hold onto his no. 3 spot when India take on South Africa in the second test in Guwahati from November 22.

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