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'Did your captain forget you can bowl?' Washington Sundar breaks silence on getting ignored by Shubman Gill for 68 overs
Washington Sundar was asked whether his captain, Shubman Gill forgot that the India all-rounder is a capable off-spinner.
Shubman Gill is a happy man. And why won't he be? The India captain produced yet another scintillating batting display against England in the 4th Test of the series at Manchester and broke a plethora of records in the process with a 9th century, but more importantly, watched two of his all-rounders defy all odds to help India eke out a draw. Centuries from Gill, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja ensured the series stayed alive with India having a golden opportunity to level the Anderson-Tendulkar 2-2 if they can win the final Test at The Oval.
But while Gill ticked most boxes, the Old Trafford Test will be remembered for a huge missed opportunity from the Indian captain. During England's first innings, when the hosts kept on piling the runs, Gill did not turn to Sundar for the first 68 overs. The move baffled many, including fans and former cricketers, who questioned Gill's decision-making. The debate gained more steam when Sundar was finally brought into the attack 15 minutes before lunch and struck twice in quick succession in the second session, dismissing Ollie Pope and Harry Brook.
What happened and why it happened are unclear. Morne Morkel touched upon it after the end of Day 3, but Sundar's reaction to it is the closest explanation. Despite being needled by the broadcasters to spill the beans, Washington remained coy, although he did let out one small detail. Here is how the conversation panned out.
Broadcaster: Did you captain forget that you can bowl in the first innings?
Washington Sundar: I'm not giving any headlines this time, followed by laughter from himself, Stuart Broad and Nasser Hussain.
Stuart Broad: You need to work on your tips and hints out there. 'I'm loose, I'm ready to go (imitating warming up).
Broadcaster: You’ve got to catch his eye. You got to start looking at him [Shubman Gill]
Washington Sundar: Most of the times, I am around the square, so I'm sure I cross him every now and then. But yeah, whatever the team needs.
Why Shubman Gill didn't give the ball to Washington Sundar earlier
England were off to a brisk start with openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, smashing runs at 5.5 runs an over. Even after the partnership was broken, Pope, Joe Root kept on plundering runs, rendering the Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and debutant Anshul Kamboj null and void. Ravindra Jadeja was given a few overs in between, but Gill remained reluctant to bring on Sundar. It was all the more surprising because Sundar, not too long ago, had picked up a five-wicket haul in the previous Test at Lord's.
"Shubman just made the call in there to stick a little bit longer with the seam options. I think in the first couple of days we saw the ball moving around and seaming around, and pace on the ball was the way to go, and then when we got the opportunity to bowl, we missed our length. So did we bowl enough good balls to say that we need to go to spin straightaway? I don't think so. And I think when he got the opportunity today with the ball in hand, Washi did a great job for us," India's bowling coach Morkel said.
