"He himself will be confused" - Irfan Pathan questions all-rounder’s batting position after India's huge loss in IND vs SA 2025 2nd Test

Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan questioned the thinking behind Washington Sundar's batting position following India's huge 408-run loss against South Africa in the second Test. India lost the series 0-2, suffering their second whitewash at home in two consecutive years.

All-rounder Washington Sundar was promoted to bat at number three in the first Test. He was India's best batter with scores of 29 and 31. However, his batting position was shuffled as he was sent in at number eight in the second Test. He made 48 runs in the first innings but managed just 16 in the second.

Irfan Pathan reckoned that batters going up and down the order was understandable in T20 cricket, but called for more stability when it came to the longest format of the game.

"In T20 cricket, it is understandable that players come up and down the order. But if you do the same thing in Tests, you will not be set. I know Washington has a lot of ability but if you play him at three and eight, he himself will be confused and in Test cricket you need stability. If you do not provide that stability to players, performing at the top level for them will become difficult," he said on his YouTube channel.

In the last seven Tests, Sundar has batted at different positions, including number five, eight, nine, seven, three, three, and eight (in the same order). There has been no clarity on his batting position, as highlighted by Irfan. He reckoned that India should have stuck to Sundar at number three even in the second Test.

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Irfan Pathan questions selection of too many all-rounders in the team

Irfan Pathan also questioned the selection of too many all-rounders in the team, particularly Nitish Kumar Reddy. He stated that with too many bowlers, some would not bowl enough, as observed with Nitish Reddy.

Irfan Pathan raised questions over the all-rounder's performances with the bat. He made just 10 runs off 18 balls in the first innings of the second Test and was dismissed for a three-ball duck in the second innings. Nitish Reddy bowled just six overs in the first innings and four overs in the second, failing to pick up a single wicket.

"If you play so many bowlers, some will bowl very little and we have seen that too. Nitish scored a hundred but in the nine innings after that, there has been no visible performance. If he is playing as a batting all-rounder, he has the ability, but that ability has to be converted into performances. There will be a big question mark on him going forward," he said.

So far, he has scored 396 runs in 16 innings at an average of 26.40 with just the one century in Melbourne against Australia in 2024-25 being a stand-out performance.