Robin Uthappa backs India to develop Washington Sundar as finisher in ODIs

Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa has backed India to develop Washington Sundar as a finisher in ODIs. Sundar batted at number five in the opening ODI against the Proteas, but he was pushed down to number six in the second game.

The all-rounder was run out for a solitary run in the second game after facing eight deliveries. Furthermore, Sundar bowled four overs and went wicketless after conceding 28 runs.

Sundar was dismissed after scoring 13 runs in the opening game and bowled only three overs. The all-rounder was dropped in the third ODI as Tilak Varma played in place of him at Vizag on Saturday.

Robin Uthappa said on his YouTube Channel, “In my opinion, Washington Sundar should be nurtured, and you should develop him as a finisher in the position that Jadeja currently plays. You have to prepare him to eventually replace Jadeja over a period of time, maybe after the 2027 World Cup, so that you have a proper finishing player. I think that mindset is there for him, and by then I hope he also gets a lot more bowling time in the middle, because, as we can see, there aren’t many off-spinners in India who can contribute with the bat.”

On the other hand, former flamboyant batter said the selectors won’t be able to understand Prasidh Krishna’s worth unless they give him opportunities. 

“If you look at Prasidh Krishna, he has always played as the third fast bowler under Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj or Arshdeep. He never had the onus on himself, where he was like among the couple of fast bowlers. Now you’re giving him the opportunity to be the main fast bowler of the Indian team. Now unless you expose him to that situation, how will you understand whether he can handle that responsibility or not, how he will respond under pressure, being one of the top two fast bowlers of the team?”

“Unless we utilize him, how will we know? Unless you give the opportunity, as a coach, captain, and selector, how will you know if we can give him that responsibility later on? You have to see how they respond to that opportunity. As far as I know, the conversation is going on, communication is there,” he added.

Krishna returned with impressive figures of 4-66 in 9.5 overs he bowled in the third ODI against South Africa on Saturday. The lanky pacer conceded 27 runs in the first two overs he bowled, but bounced back strongly in his second spell, taking three wickets. 

Krishna adopted a stump-to-stump line in his second line and he was able to reap rewards as he plumbed Matthew Breetzke in front of the wickets, whereas clean-bowled centurion Quinton de Kock.