"He can be a wonderful asset to the Indian side" - Former India selector on Washington Sundar's perfect role
Former Indian selector Saba Karim is highly impressed with Washington Sundar's performance in the recently concluded ODI series against New Zealand. Sundar played a cracking cameo of 37*(16) in the first ODI and also scored a fighting half-century in tough conditions in the third game.
Walking out to bat at No. 7, Sundar has shown that he can be a genuine contender as an all-rounder for India in white-ball cricket. With the likes of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja unavailable for the Bangladesh ODIs, the 23-year-old could play as an all-rounder for the Men in Blue.
However, replying to a Sportskeeda query during a media interaction arranged by Sony Sports network, Saba Karim explained why Sundar shouldn't bat higher than No. 7. He said:
"I would still stick at No. 7 for Washi Sundar because as a bowling all-rounder, he can be a wonderful asset to the Indian side. That lengthens the batting and that also helps them go hard knowing that you have Sundar coming at No. 7 or No. 8 depending upon the team combination."
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Saba Karim backs Shahbaz Ahmed as batting all-rounder for India
Saba Karim feels Shahbaz Ahmed could be the batting all-rounder that the Men in Blue need as a backup to Hardik Pandya in their build-up to the 2023 ODI World Cup. Shahbaz has been named in the ODI squad against Bangladesh and the former selector feels he might be rewarded for his performances in domestic cricket.
On this, Karim stated:
"I look at Shahbaz Ahmed as a viable alternative as a batting all-rounder who can bowl left-arm spin. Depending on the combination, you can fit him in because the kind of performances he has put in for India A and Bengal for the past 2-3 seasons have been massive. I am sure he will get more opportunities at international level and will deliver some stellar performances."
Squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Shahbaz Ahmed, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen.