"Can bat from 1 to 6, 7" - Ashish Nehra's massive statement on star India all-rounder ahead of IPL 2026

Gujarat Titans (GT) head coach Ashish Nehra has lauded star India all-rounder Washington ahead of IPL 2026. The 44-year-old claimed that the southpaw can bat in any position from opening to No. 7. The former India pacer added that the off-spinner is equally effective with the ball, including the powerplay, subject to conditions. Nehra believes that Sundar is not a finished product and he’ll only get better with experience.

Notably, Sundar had opened alongside Rohit Sharma in an ODI against Australia in 2023. He scored 18 runs off 30 balls. Apart from this, he opened alongside Virat Kohli for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in an IPL 2021 game against the Mumbai Indians (MI), scoring 10 off 16 deliveries.

While crediting Sundar for his performance in all three facets of the game, Nehra told PTI (via The Times of India):

“Washington Sundar, the kind of skill set he has... number one, for me, Washington Sundar is a batsman who can bat from 1 to 6, 7, whatever number you want him to bat. He has the ability to bat that much. And now, as he is playing all three formats for India, he will gain more confidence. It also depends on the conditions. As I said, if there is a little help in the pitch, then Washington Sundar has the full package with both batting and bowling. With the new ball, he has bowled very well from where he started his career.”

“So it depends on how the team uses him. But overall, Washington Sundar, whether you talk about batting, bowling, or fielding, he is a quick fielder and very deceptive. He is not a finished product. The sky is the limit. He will get better from here. He is only 25-26 years old and has been in the system for so many years. So now his experience is coming in front of you,” he added.

Interestingly, Sundar represented GT in only six games in the last IPL season. While rubbishing reports of a trade deal involving the all-rounder, Nehra said that they will use the all-rounder well this season:

“Because of the combination last year, he was not able to play that much. But next year, I hope he stays in form. Then you will see him playing more than last year.”

Notably, Washington Sundar has been retained by GT for INR 3.2 crore for IPL 2026.

“Our core team is set” – Ashish Nehra expresses delight to retain the core Indian lineup ahead of IPL 2026 auction

Ashish Nehra further shared his delight after retaining the core Indian batting lineup, particularly in the middle order. On this, he said in the same interaction:

“Our core team is set, and we have released only 4-5 players. So we go in the auction with a very open mind. When you are making a team from scratch, like last year, it's a different kind of strategy. But right now, pretty much all the slots are filled. So we'll see what we'll get, the kind of purse we have, because other teams have so much purse. So you have to go with the flow, go with the auction. And this time, again, we are looking to do that only.”

“Our team is set. Rahul Tewatia, Shah Rukh Khan, Washington Sundar, so many middle-order batsmen already, Glenn Phillips. You have so many players.”

GT will enter the IPL 2026 auction with INR 12.9 crore in their kitty. They have five slots to fill, including four overseas spots.

GT squad ahead of IPL 2026 auction: Anuj Rawat, *Glenn Phillips, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, *Jos Buttler, *Kagiso Rabada, Kumar Kushagra, Manav Suthar, Mohammad Siraj, Mohd. Arshad Khan, Nishant Sindhu, Prasidh Krishna, R. Sai Kishore, Rahul Tewatia, *Rashid Khan, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar.

The IPL 2026 auction will be held in Abu Dhabi on December 16.