5 cricketers who became champions without batting or bowling in a tournament in 2023 ft. Washington Sundar
Cricketers dream of winning big tournaments in their careers. Only the best players in the country are selected in the squads participating in the top competitions. The players work hard their entire lives to perform their best on the grandest stage.
While the cricketers aim to contribute their best to the team's cause, sometimes, teams end up winning a tournament without any contribution from a player in the batting or bowling department. A few cricketers have even become champions without taking the field in any of the matches.
Here's a list of five such cricketers who won a tournament in 2023 without batting or bowling:
#1 Washington Sundar, Asia Cup 2023
Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar joined the Asia Cup 2023 squad as a last-minute replacement for Axar Patel. An injury ruled Patel out of the final match against Sri Lanka, forcing the team management to draft Sundar into the team.
While Sundar was added to the team because of his right-arm off-spin and batting skills, he only got to field for 15.2 overs. Mohammed Siraj, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah bowled Sri Lanka out for 50 runs. Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan then chased down the 51-run target with ease. Hence, Sundar won the Asia Cup without batting or bowling.
#2 Josh Inglis, World Test Championship 2023
Josh Inglis was a part of the Australian squad that played against India in the 2023 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. He was present in the team as a backup wicketkeeping option for Alex Carey.
Since Carey was fit and available to play, the Australian team management did not include Inglis in the team. Australia ended up defeating India to become the WTC winners. Interestingly, Inglis is yet to make his Test debut but got an opportunity to lift the World Test Championship mace.
#3 Subhranshu Senapati, IPL 2023
Uncapped Indian batter Subhranshu Senapati was present in the Chennai Super Kings squad for IPL 2023. CSK are known for making very few changes to their playing XI during the IPL season. While injuries forced them to regularly change their fast-bowling attack, their batting core remained the same.
As a result, Senapati warmed the bench for the entire season. Nevertheless, he got an opportunity to lift the IPL trophy in Ahmedabad.
#4 Shaik Rasheed, IPL 2023
Another Chennai Super Kings player to feature on the list is Shaik Rasheed. The 18-year-old is a batter from Andhra Pradesh who can also bowl leg-spin if needed. Rasheed has played only three domestic T20s in his career, which is why CSK did not try out the uncapped youngster in IPL 2023.
CSK are likely to retain their uncapped bunch of cricketers for IPL 2024. The exposure in IPL 2023 and the opportunity to lift the trophy would have motivated Rasheed a great deal.
#5 Bhagath Varma, IPL 2023
Bhagath Varma is one of the few cricketers to have won multiple IPL championships without playing a single match. Varma was present in the CSK squad that lifted the trophy in 2021. He was also a part of the team that won in 2023.
Varma is an off-spin bowling all-rounder. It would not be a surprise if the 24-year-old becomes a regular member of the CSK playing XI in the coming years.