The Washington Sundar conundrum – Indian cricket, and his IPL franchise, have still not figured out what his exact role is | Cricket News
3 min readApr 9, 2026 09:40 PM IST Cricket fans of a certain vintage would remember Greg Chappell trying to turn Irfan Pathan into a genuine all-rounder by getting him to bat in the top order. The move didn’t quite work out and the Aussie legend’s stint as India coach came to an end as he lost the support of the big names in the dressing room. Pathan subsequently lost his pace and place in the national side due to the confusion over his primary role in the team. Washington Sundar is an off-spinner, not a left-arm paceman – a rare commodity in Indian cricket – but the selectors and the teams he has been part of seem to be unsure if he’s a batsman who bowls a bit or a bowler capable of getting some useful runs. The thinking around him seems to be something like this: If India are struggling on dust bowls at home, call up Washington. If a Test match in England needs saving, send Washington. If there’s a top-order collapse, …
