India all-rounder Washington Sundar described the chance to play a variety of roles as “exciting” and stated he is content to bat wherever in the order.
In the first ODI in Birmingham on Tuesday, India defeated England by six wickets thanks to an unbeaten 52 from Washington, whose position has regularly altered among forms.
After captain Shubman Gill’s fluid 80 set the stage for the chase, the 26-year-old led India home with an uninterrupted 102-run partnership with Axar Patel (57 not out).
“The fact that I play different roles is exciting. Not many people get to play different roles. I get to play those different roles and be in those different situations. Obviously, I try my best to help the team win. It is exciting to be in different situations and different phases of the game,” PTI quoted Washington as saying in the post-match press conference.
Washington acknowledged the impact of Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra and added that head coach Gautam Gambhir, who prefers to fill the team with all-rounders, has been essential in boosting his confidence as a batter.
“Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) always made me understand what exactly I could do with the bat, especially, and made me understand my game as well. Even Ashish Nehra at Gujarat Titans has always made sure… he has helped me understand myself a lot more, be it as a person or as a cricketer on the whole,” Washington said.
“As an all-rounder, I think it is really important to keep looking to improve every single day, understand my game and, obviously, play according to the situation. Playing a lot of games also helps. You get to be in those situations, understand what exactly you can do, and you have a lot of learning as well.
“I am so grateful that I have got such people who have always had faith in my skill sets and also made me understand what exactly I could do with my different skill sets,” he added.
Teams greatly benefit from having numerous players who can contribute with both bat and ball, according to the Tamil Nadu cricketer.
“It is such a blessing for me to be an all-rounder and I mean any team would love to have as many all-rounders as possible because you can play according to the conditions and it is always nice to have different varieties.
“You will never think like you are short in sort of options, especially going in any conditions. We play a lot of cricket around the world, the conditions are quite different and yes, it was a good day today for all of us,” he said.
The spin all-rounder commended Axar for completing the task and captain Gill for anchoring the chase.
“There was definitely a little bit in the wicket. Shubman batted really well, and that partnership with Shreyas Iyer was very important. The way Axar played, he got those crucial boundaries every time they were needed and made things look very easy.
“We applied ourselves really well and were happy to have won this,” he said reflecting on India’s first win on the UK tour.
Washington also praised bowler Gurnoor Brar for his 2/61 in 9 overs, which included the crucial wickets of Jacob Bethell and Ben Duckett.
“With Gurnoor, you can always expect character. I have watched him closely over the last couple of years with the Gujarat Titans. He always gives everything, whether it is a game or a practice session.
“Players with that kind of character always step up when it matters. The way he bowled today was fabulous. He got crucial wickets at important moments and played a major part in us winning this game,” he noted.
