Washington Sundar admits playing Ranji Trophy benefitted him a lot

The star of Day 1 of the second Test between India and New Zealand, Washington Sundar, admitted that playing in the Ranji Trophy helped him a lot.

It was a surprising selection call from the Indian team management on the first morning of the second Test when they dropped Kuldeep Yadav and picked Sundar ahead of him. Prior to the recall, Sundar hadn’t played a Test for India since March 2021, when he played a solid hand with the bat against England, scoring 96 in Ahmedabad. 

Since then, Sundar has been trusted primarily as a white-ball player. So what led to India recalling Sundar out of nowhere? Over the last three years, the left-handed batter has been quite active on the red-ball circuit, with 16 first-class appearances. 

In those 16 appearances, Sundar has amassed 601 runs, averaging just 28.62, but has managed three fifties and a century. That century against Delhi, which came as recently as last week, triggered the youngster's comeback.  

Batting at No.3, the left-hander smacked an almost chanceless 152 against Delhi, showing his prowess with the bat.However, what Sundar described as “God’s plan” ended up making the day his best on a cricket field with the ball. 

“It was a great opportunity for me to play the Tamil Nadu-Delhi game because it’s good to be playing red-ball [cricket] every now and then and keep getting the rhythm in red-ball [cricket] going, both with the bat and ball and be consistent with it,” the allrounder said in a press conference after Day 1 of the 2nd India vs New Zealand Test.

"The fact that I also got to bowl a lot of overs in that game definitely helped. I am really grateful for this day, I don’t think I will ever forget this day, [it was] very special.

“It was God's plan. I just wanted to focus on every single ball. I didn't try to change too many things, but tried to wary my pace and hit consistent lengths.”

Sundar, who is seen as Ashwin's successor, also acknowledged that it was great bowling a lot of overs and sharing the field with Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin. “We communicated a lot, and they brought in a lot of qualities, skill sets and experience,” Sundar said on India’s spin duo. 

“That really helps for someone who is playing along with them. It definitely helped me today and it is special to be playing in the game in which both of them are part of as well. I hope we will get to play a lot more games together.”

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