India suffered a heavy defeat against South Africa in the Super 8 match which took place in Ahmedabad. One of the biggest selection calls was taken at the toss when Team India continued to stick with off-spinner Washington Sundar ahead of vice-captain Axar Patel. It was a debatable call and by the end of the game it proved to be costly with Washington Sundar not being able to make an impact with both bat and ball. Sundar bowled just the two overs and could not pick up a wicket while with his batting he could score just 11 runs of 11 balls.
Washington Sundar is returning from an injury. He was absent for the New Zealand series before WT20 and got fit just by the time of the WT20. So there are plenty of questions on what happened to the form of Washington Sundar after his return from injury. Washington Sundar played against Netherlands in the group stage match and did not look effective. He was taken down by the Dutch batters and went wicket less. He conceded 36 runs and could not pick up any wicket against Netherlands. Also Read | Tilak Varma’s post-injury phase raises Questions About Consistency and Match Fitness
Now Washington Sundar has failed to create and impact with both bat and ball which has meant that India have to take a call. Washington Sundar has not been able to make much of an impact in the T20 format. He has played 60 T20Is and has picked up only 51 wickets. With the bat his average is less than 17 in T20Is and given he was returning from an injury it looked a very bad call to go with him for the South Africa game. After returning from his injury Sundar has played two games and has gone wicket-less.
In 2025/26 season, Sundar has played 6 T20I matches and only picked up three wickets which is not good enough. He has also not been able to deliver with the bat and when he was sent at Number 5 against South Africa, he struggled a lot before getting dismissed. India will have to make some changes before the next game and it looks likely that Washington Sundar might be dropped.
