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Former India batter Robin Uthappa has opined that Washington Sundar should be nurtured for the finisher’s role in ODI cricket. His statement comes ahead of the third and final ODI of the three-match series against South Africa, to be played on Saturday, December 6, in Visakhapatnam.
On Friday, December 5, during a discussion on his YouTube channel, the 40-year-old stated that the management should prepare Washington Sundar to gradually replace Ravindra Jadeja, possibly after the 2027 World Cup, noting that there aren’t many Indian off-spinners who can contribute with the bat. He said:
“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.”
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The 26-year-old has played in 28 ODIs, scoring 365 runs, including a fifty, and has taken 29 wickets.
“Unless we utilize him, how will we know?” - Robin Uthappa’s massive statement on India seamer
In the same video, Robin Uthappa also spoke about Prasidh Krishna, who has come under scrutiny following his performance in the second ODI against South Africa. The 29-year-old returned figures of 2/85 in 8.2 overs as India failed to defend 358.
Uthappa pointed out that the Karnataka pacer has mostly operated as the third seamer, and unless he is tested under pressure and given greater responsibility, it will be hard to know whether he can take on such roles going forward. Uthappa said:
“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.
Prasidh has played 20 ODIs, taking 33 wickets at an average of 28.09, a strike rate of 28.1, and an economy rate of 5.98.
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