Will Washington Sundar Play In India vs New Zealand 2nd Test? Gautam Gambhir Answers

The Indian team head coach Gautam Gambhir came up with a hint that star all-rounder Washington Sundar may play in the second Test against New Zealand that is slated to take place in Pune, starting on October 24, Thursday. Sundar joined the Indian team on the back of a terrific run for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25. Earlier, the Indian team suffered a massive defeat in the first Test in Bengaluru against New Zealand. 

"We just felt that they have 4 or 5 left-handers in the playing XI as well. So if we want another bowler who can take the ball away from the left-handers, it's always going to be useful for us as well. But we haven't decided what's going to be our playing XI. We feel that with the 2 openers and one left-hander in the middle. Washington can give us more control and he is a good option for us," said Gambhir.

"We know that Washington Sundar is a quality player. We know what he brings to the table. If he does play tomorrow, he brings a completely different dimension, brings control for us and he can bat in the lower middle-order. So it's all about taking the ball away if we want to. But we still have another finger spinner in Axar and then a wrist spinner in Kuldeep. We will take a call after taking a look at the wicket," said Gambhir.

The last time when Sundar took part in a Test match was back in  March 2021 against England. As of now, the Tamil Nadu-based player has played a total of 4 Test matches where he scalped 6 wickets and scored 265 runs at an average of 66.25.

India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant(w), KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Akash Deep, Dhruv Jurel.

New Zealand Squad: Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Ajaz Patel, William ORourke, Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy.