Learnt a lot from Dhoni, Smith, Stokes: Washington Sundar

17-year-old Washington Sundar, who was the third youngest cricketer to feature in the IPL has credited senior pros MS Dhoni, Ben Stokes and Steve Smith for his recent success in the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). The off-break bowler was initially drafted in the IPL for the Pune Supergiants franchise to fill in the void of Ravi Ashwin. He justified his selection by being economical while operating in the power plays and picking wickets at intervals throughout the season.

He is more than a bowler and bats high up the order in domestic cricket. Playing for the Albert Tuti Patriots’ franchise, Sundar put up an all-round performance last night to guide the Patriots to a 10-wicket victory over Ruby Trichy Warriors. He played a brilliant cameo with the willow scoring a speedy 49* and complimented it with bowling figures of 2/22. In the opening game of the league, the Chennai-born cricketer scored 69 and took 3/34 as Patriots defeated Dindigul Dragons. He was adjudged Man of the Match in both the games.

Speaking to TNPL’s official website, the youngster said, “It was very good. I played with a lot of star players like (MS) Dhoni, Steve Smith, (Ben) Stokes. I learned how to approach different situations both on and off the field. I learned a lot from them and I am finding that experience helpful in the India Cements Ltd TNPL as well.”

He further added, “I mostly learned by just watching them play. They have helped me in bowling in the right areas and how to do well in pressure games.”

Sundar needs more game time to prosper

In his maiden appearance in the cash-rich Twenty20 league, he took 8 wickets from 11 matches. Sundar may not still be the finished product, but the youngster exhibits a fearless and audacious approach. He needs more game time under his belt to learn and prosper.

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar had also praised Sundar during the IPL final. He took to his Twitter page and wrote, “No mystery ball, no doosra, no carrom ball, just pure off spin brilliance from Washington Sundar with the new ball.”