Are the Indian team decision-makers over reliant on Washington Sundar?
If Sanjay Manjrekar is to be believed, Sundar has become an all-in-one solution to every problem for India head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Manjrekar took a swipe at Gambhir for promoting the all-rounder to No. 5 in the batting order after India suffered a top-order collapse in their unsuccessful chase of 188 against South Africa in a T20 World Cup Super 8 clash recently.
Manjrekar drew a parallel between a multipurpose Ayurvedic medicine and Sundar to suggest that Gambhir views the 26-year-old as the solution to every problem in the team.
“Kailas Jeevan – there used to be a medicine by that name back in the day. If you had a headache, you’d use it. If you had a stomach issue, you’d take it. It was an all-in-one remedy. Gautam Gambhir seems to have an all-in-one solution for everything too: Washington Sundar,” Manjrekar said on CNN-News18’s Stump Mic while analysing India’s poor batting performance against South Africa.
“If there’s a batting problem, Washi. If there’s a bowling problem, Washi. He was promoted up the order to No. 5 today, and then Rinku Singh and Hardik Pandya walked in at No. 7. It was just too much,” he added.
South Africa exposed how India’s batters appeared ill-equipped to deal with slower deliveries, with fast bowler Lungi Ngidi unleashing variations that left the defending champions struggling. Manjrekar advised the team to focus on preparing their batters to negotiate changes of pace, especially captain Suryakumar Yadav.
“Forget fast bowling – focus on playing the slower balls. They are not able to handle slower balls or spinners. The captain is struggling the most against slower deliveries,” he said.
India will face Zimbabwe next in what is a must-win game for the co-hosts in the race for the semi-finals. The team also need to improve their net run rate, which has taken a hit following the heavy defeat to South Africa.
