Had Shardul continued batting, both of them would've scored tons: Washington Sundar's father on his son's Test debut
India all-rounder Washington Sundar's father M Sundar has stated his son's brilliant performance on Test debut didn't come as a surprise. He went on to claim that Washington and his partner Shardul Thakur would've notched up centuries had the latter stayed at the crease longer.
At the loss of Rishabh Pant's wicket in the first innings of the Gabba Test, India were precariously poised at 186/6. But Washington Sundar and Thakur joined forces to stitch together a gritty 123-run partnership and ensured that their team got close to the Australian total of 369.
In an interview with indianexpress.com, M Sundar claimed that he has always known his son has the ability to make it at the highest level. He also opened up about the challenges of the bio-secure environments cricketers are being put in.
"We were not surprised to be very honest. We know about Washi’s capability. Had Shardul continued batting, both of them would have scored centuries," Washington Sundar's father said.
"He was in a bubble. We understand that these are part and parcel of a cricketer’s life but six months is a long period. We were a bit worried. Every day we used to have at least one and a half hours video call, Washington never skipped that," he added.
'We just prayed that he be fine' - Washington Sundar's father
M Sundar thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India for taking care of their players, and mentioned that he prayed for his son's well-being.
"We just prayed that he be fine and we thank BCCI for taking care of all the players in such a good manner during a difficult phase," he stated.
Washington Sundar is only 21 years old, but has shown maturity far beyond his years in his short career so far. He made his T20I debut back in 2017, and at the age of 18, became the youngest player to feature for India in the format. The off-spinner has already played 26 T20Is for the country, and remains an integral part of the team heading into the 2021 T20 World Cup.