Washington Sundar

Named after PD Washington as a mark of thanksgiving to his mentor by his father, Sundar has risen the ranks, from the age-group level to the Under-19 level and from Tamil Nadu to Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS). As a 18-year-old, he was one amongst a batch of cricketers who are presumed to be one of India's next generation players.

A left-handed top-order batsman who also bowls off-spin, Sundar made a rather low-key first-class debut - coming after an impressive performance for India in the Under-19 World Cup, held in Bangladesh. India eventually finished as runner-up, losing the title clash against West Indies.

Sundar made his ODI debut for India in 2017 as an 18 year old against Sri Lanka. He was the auxiliary spinner for India in limited overs cricket as the team was looking to move on from Ravi Ashwin and Jadeja post the 2017 Champions Trophy defeat. Washington Sundar played consistently at home for India, performing decently without any spellbinding spells.

A turning point for him came out of the blue when he was thrown straight into the Playing XI for the 4th Test against Australia, after having joined the tour only as a net bowler. Sundar stitched a crucial partnership with Shardul Thakur to reduce Australia’s lead deficit after the first innings, as then India claimed a famous Test win at fortress Gabba. Sundar was impressive with the bat in the subsequent home series against England as well, but an untimely injury sidetracked his career for the next couple of years.

Sundar was once again thrust out of the blue for the home Tests against New Zealand in 2024. Although India suffered a whitewash in that series, Sundar was very impressive and got his maiden 10-fer in Test cricket.

IPL through the years

When he burst into the Indian Premier League in 2017, Washington Sundar, had all the qualities one would aspire from an Indian cricketer. An all-rounder who can bat anywhere in the order, can give you useful overs in the powerplay and pretty useful in the field, Sundar is a three-dimensional player, something which is an asset to any team. Having been unsold in 2017, he joined the now defunct Rising Pune Supergiant (2017) as a replacement for the injured Ravi Ashwin. By the end of the tournament, he was the toast of the town, grabbing eight wickets from 11 matches. More than the wickets, it was his ability to contain that caught the eyes of the observer.

Having been unsold in the 2017 auctions, Sundar went for a whopping 3.2 crore rupees in the 2018 players bid. The pressure of the price perhaps told on the youngster or was it the lack of opportunities? Denied a constant run in the playing XI - the effect of changing and chopping in Virat Kohli's led Royal Challengers had a telling effect - with Sundar taking a beating as far his bowling was concerned.

Sundar switched over to the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2022 IPL season. His T20 game though regressed as he was eventually not even first choice for SRH, as Mayank Markande and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth played ahead of him. In the 2025 IPL Auctions, he was picked by Gujarat Titans.