The last 12 months or so have seen Washington Sundar firmly establish himself as a key player in India’s Test side, and he’s also someone very much part of the team’s ODI set-up. Washington Sundar might have played only 4 ODIs since the start of 2024, but he was a part of the side’s successful campaign in the 2025 Champions Trophy, where he was one of five spinners in the squad.
In 22 innings for India in T20Is, Washington Sundar has made 193 runs including a fifty, at an average of 13.78, with a strike rate of over 121, and has also taken 48 wickets in 54 matches at an average of 23.50, with best figures of 3/15. In 99 T20 innings, Washington Sundar has scored 1,428 runs at an average of 19.56, at a strike rate of 121.63, with three fifties and a best score of 54*. He has also taken 115 wickets at an average of 28.90, with best figures of 3/10.
In this year’s IPL, Washington Sundar showed glimpses of his improved T20 game, scoring 133 runs in five innings at an average of 26.60, with a strike rate of over 162, with a best score of 49, playing some useful knocks for Gujarat Titans (GT).
Being a non-regular in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has also contributed to Washington Sundar not being a part of India’s T20 side. In IPL 2025 for Gujarat Titans (GT), he made only 6 appearances, with a fair few of them coming as an impact substitute. 2020 was the last year Sundar played more than 10 games in an IPL season.
During the recent Test tour of England, Washington Sundar’s patience while batting, ability to stitch partnerships and play situations stood out, as he scored 284 runs in four Tests and eight innings at an average of 47.33, with a century and fifty and took seven wickets, including a four-wicket haul, at an average of 38.57.
With an aim to retain the Asia Cup trophy, India will kick off their campaign against UAE on Wednesday (September 10). The Suryakumar Yadav-led side will enter the continental tournament as the favourite. After facing UAE, India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan on September 14. The two teams can lock horns three times.
The Men in Blue will take on Oman in their last league stage game on September 19. Before the start of the all-important tournament, Mohammad Kaif picked a player India would miss at the 2025 Asia Cup. He didn’t pick Shreyas Iyer and instead namedropped Washington Sundar.
Washington Sundar’s absence from Asia Cup 2025 squad gets slammed from Mohammad Kaif
Former cricketer Mohammed Kaif has said that India will miss the services of Washington Sundar at the Asia Cup, pointing out how the presence of three all-rounders in the T20 World Cup squad last year was crucial in the team winning the title after 17 years. India clinched the 2024 T20 World Cup in Barbados by beating South Africa in the final, ending an 11-year wait for an ICC trophy and a 13-year drought for a world title. Since then, the dressing room has seen two major changes.
India are gearing up for their first major T20 tournament since the 2024 World Cup, all set to be held in September in the UAE. But Kaif believes that the new-look team will need to work hard to discover a fresh winning formula. Kaif noted that the Rohit Sharma-led World Cup-winning team had the luxury of three genuine all-rounders in Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya, whereas the current side has only two, Axar and Hardik.
“Rohit’s team won the T20 World Cup with 3 all-rounders – Axar, Jadeja, Hardik – and that meant 6 proper bowling options and batting till 8. At the Asia Cup, with only 2 genuine all-rounders – Hardik and Axar. – India will have to find a new winning combination. Washington Sundar will be missed,” Kaif tweeted on Monday afternoon.
The team management placed Washington Sundar on the stand-by list for the Asia Cup, while batter Rinku Singh was included in the 15-member team.
“He’s (Sundar) always been in the scheme of things. At the moment, we have two mystery spinners/wristspinners in Varun and Kuldeep and Axar has been around for a while,” chief selector Ajit Agarkar had told the media.
Washington Sundar’s last T20I was against England earlier this year in Rajkot. The Men in Blue will kick off their Asia Cup campaign against the UAE on September 10, while the high-voltage game against arch-rivals Pakistan is scheduled for September 14, with both fixtures set to be played in Dubai. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav and Co. will play their final group stage fixture against Oman on September 19 in Abu Dhabi.
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