"Told him, 'You literally didn't smile until you picked 5-6 wickets'" - Washington Sundar's sister Shailaja sheds light on cricketer's personality
Washington Sundar's elder sister Shailaja has opened up on a conversation she had with the all-rounder after he claimed seven wickets in the first innings of the Pune Test against New Zealand. Shailaja, a cricketer and commentator, urged Sundar to enjoy his success as she only saw the off-spinner smiling after he claimed five-six wickets.
Sundar was among the few positives for Team India as they suffered an unexpected 3-0 loss to New Zealand at home in the three-match Test series. Replacing Kuldeep Yadav for the second Test in Pune, he picked up 7-59 & 4-56 even as India went down in the contest by 113 runs.
In an interview with Rediff.com, Shailaja shed light on Sundar's personality and revisited her interaction with her brother after his seven-fer in Pune. She said:
"When is at home, he is a bit more relaxed. He enjoys with my mom, pulls her leg and plays around with the pets. He is a bit chilled, but generally, we have brought up that way that we don't react much to whatever that's happening, we try to keep it very balanced. Throughout our upbringing that has really helped."
"I actually mentioned this to Washi on the evening of him picking seven wickets in Pune, I spoke to him. I was watching him, so I told him, 'You literally didn't smile until you picked 5-6 wickets. You should enjoy because you know you are doing a wonderful job, you are performing really well. You should really enjoy the moment, and just celebrate it.'"
"I could literally see him smiling. If you watch the highlights, you would notice him smiling after taking the sixth and seventh wicket only," Shailaja went on to add.
Sundar also did a decent job with the ball in the third Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He picked up 4-81 in the first innings and 1-30 in the second. With the bat, he contributed an unbeaten 38 in the first essay. India, however, lost the match by 25 runs, failing to chase a target of 147.
Washington Sundar's stats in international cricket so far
In a stop-start international career, the 25-year-old has played six Test matches in which he has claimed 22 wickets at an average of 23.86, with one five-fer and one ten-wicket match haul. With the willow, he has contributed 354 runs, with the aid of three fifties.
In ODIs, he has claimed 23 scalps in 22 matches and has scored 315 runs, with one half-century. The Tamil Nadu cricketer has also played 52 T20Is, picking up 47 wickets and scoring 161 runs, which includes one half-century.