Washington Sundar Explains Gautam Gambhir's Impact On His Career

Washington Sundar has been a regular in India's Test set-up of late. In fact, nine of Sundar's 13 Tests have come since Gautam Gambhir became the head coach. He played four Tests against England recently, in which he scored 284 runs, including notching up his maiden Test ton, and also picked up a crucial four-wicket haul at Lord's, which brought India back in the game.

The all-rounder is not just impressed with the way Gambhir has gone about his business as head coach, but also revealed how he looked up to him during his initial Indian Premier League (IPL) days.

“He also had No. 5 on the back of his jersey [like me]. And obviously, he was a left-hander who was extremely elegant. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was bowling to him in the IPL. He was someone who was super successful against me, but he is an amazing human being. He has had so much faith in all of us that we would fight at all times and win the game. Really glad to see him happy at the end of the series,” Sundar revealed in an interview with Wisden.

Sundar also credited the duo of Gambhir and skipper Shubman Gill for maintaining a calm atmosphere in the dressing room, allowing the players to be at their best on the field.

“Credit to them for having such a calm dressing room throughout the series. Their communication was precise and clear on what was expected. Both of them have a lot of belief in their players and that really helps in the bigger picture,” said Sundar.

Sundar has a healthy batting average of 44.23 in Test cricket and is improving as a bowler as well, having picked up 32 scalps at 28.46.