Washington Sundar‘s only ODI came five years ago, but the 22-year-old could be the answer to India’s balance question, writes Rohit Sankar.

Washington Sundar has played 31 T20Is for India and faced 32 balls, batting in just 11 innings and never batting higher than No.7. He has, however, bowled more than 100 overs with the ball. In Tests, the picture flips completely. In four red-ball games for India, Sundar has three fifties and a batting average of 66.25. But in three home Tests, only once has Sundar bowled more than seven overs in an innings.

What exactly is Washington Sundar then? According to his father, a former Tamil Nadu hopeful, he is ’70 per cent a batter’. His sister, a Tamil Nadu women’s team cricketer, loves his batting more than his bowling. In Australia, the wide-eyed youngster appeared to have been picked right out of school to play a Test match but stole hearts with his batting performances, headlined by an eye-catching hook shot for six off Pat Cummins in the Brisbane Test.

After one of his three brilliant Test half-centuries, his Tamil Nadu teammate R Ashwin was vocal about his batting capabilities in the post-match press conference: “People don’t recognise that he grew up all his life as a batsman who can bowl”.

The overwhelming feeling is that India are on a never-ending hunt for the one name that can help them balance the side: someone to fill in for high-profile all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, who continue to go through their long recoveries. But given the structure of their top six, India also need this player to give them his full quota of overs with the ball.

However, India seem to have one too many requirements from the player in this role: they don’t just want an all-rounder who can bowl his entire quota of overs, but also want him to be a finisher. The search for a multitude of skillsets is hard to find in one player. It’s probably why they haven’t had great success finding the right concoction to the limited-overs line-up even with Jadeja and Hardik available.

They have tried several players in the role with Venkatesh Iyer, the latest, desperately promoted to the national setup after half a good IPL season. Although Sundar doesn’t tick all boxes, he brings a third skill set India might want. He is a good player of spin in the middle overs and can be a floater in the batting line-up.

On to the second facet: the off-spinner is terrific in mastering the art of reading a batter, a modern-day prerequisite to being a good bowler in shorter formats.

The thing with Sundar is he is a clever bowler who thinks on his feet. His ability to change lengths according to the initial movement of the batter’s feet makes him difficult to get away.

“It’s about releasing the ball as late as possible. If you can see the batsman’s movement and deliver it late then you get a chance to see what he is trying to do and if you can catch him there then you will have a better chance to react to what he is planning to execute,” Sundar had said during IPL 2020 in a press conference shortly after finishing with 4-0-12-1 in a game that saw both teams make 200-plus totals.

India’s spin bowling woes were exposed during their South Africa trip, and it hasn’t been a recent blip. After the 2019 ODI World Cup, the numbers of India’s spinners have taken a massive tumble. They have the second-worst bowling average – 55.39 – and the worst economy rate – 5.81 – among all ODI teams.

Where Sundar fits in snugly is his ability to contain the run flow while remaining attacking. With opposition teams, of late, often having the luxury of seeing through Bumrah’s overs with minimal pressure from the other end, Sundar is someone truly capable of tying one end up, bowling in the powerplay or middle overs, and offering his entire quota of overs.

Bowling aside, Sundar brings the sort of flexibility in the batting group India have sorely missed with hardly any part-time options available. With Rohit Sharma back for the West Indies series, KL Rahul could go back into the middle-order role, something he has nailed down in the past. Alongside Rishabh Pant, Rahul could be the middle overs hitter, carrying on to finish the innings, with Sundar used as a floater to counter spin or hold one end up if wickets fall early.

At 22, he is still learning the ropes, and in a full-strength Indian side might be edged out by Jadeja or Hardik, but with the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, Sundar’s varied skills while being traditional in his methods might be worth investing in right now.