'We recognised he's an outstanding all-rounder' - SRH coach Tom Moody lauds Washington Sundar

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) head coach Tom Moody has lauded all-rounder Washington Sundar and has emphasised that he will be playing a “significant role” for the team in IPL 2022. To note, Rajasthan Royals completed a resounding victory over SRH in Match 5. However, Sundar played an excellent knock of 40 runs in just 14 balls, smashing five fours and two sixes.

Talking about Sundar’s IPL career, the 22-year-old all-rounder has played a total of 43 matches in which he has scalped 27 wickets at an excellent economy of 7.14. Sundar has also scored 257 runs at a strike rate of 122.97, with his highest score coming in against the Royals on March 29.

‘We anticipate that over time he is going to play a significant role’ – Tom Moody on Washington Sundar

Speaking during the post-match press conference, Moody said, “We recognized Washington is an outstanding allrounder, hence we were excited to get him in the mega auction. We anticipate that over time he is going to play a significant role with bat and ball. At the moment, with the balance of the side, he was positioned at No. 8 but that’s certainly not the permanent position for him.”

“We have got an open mind to where he is going to end up over time, whether it’s this season or seasons to come. We recognize there is some real quality there,” he added.

The head coach criticised his bowlers for the no balls delivered during the defeat against RR. “It’s unacceptable – no-balls in this form of the game. You get heavily penalized and we paid the price. When you have dismissed arguably the opposition’s best player and you have them on edge in the beginning of their innings – Bhuvi [Bhuvneshwar Kumar] was bowling particularly well and [Romario] Shepherd’s first over was also a strong over – it sets a totally different tone, when you have taken that wicket and the ball is still moving around,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Orange Army will take on new entrants Lucknow Super Giants in their second match of the season. The match will be played on April 4 (Monday) at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai.