Support without role clarity: Ashwin questions Gautam Gambhir’s ‘misutilisation’ of Washington Sundar in T20Is | Cricket News

Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin you asked the way Washington Sundar is used in India’s T20I side, saying the all-rounder has not been given a clear role despite continuing to get opportunities.Ashwin, speaking on his Hindi YouTube show Ash Ki Baat, said that Sundar has the support of the team management, but is often overwhelmed with batting and dancing.“Washington has been supported by this team (management). He seems an automatic choice in this line-up. They support him, but what I feel is that even when they play him, there is no specific role for him. There are times that he is on the field, he gets an over, sometimes, he doesn’t even have an over. If you remember, during the T20 World Cup, they left the vice-captain. Axar Patel to play Washington. So much copy Washington gets,” Ashwin said.In the first T20I against Ireland, he bowled just one over, introduced in the 16th over of the innings, and then scored 9 off 12 balls after coming in at No.6.The numbers also raise questions about how Sundar has been used. In 61 T20Is, he has batted just 26 times, scoring at a strike rate of less than 130, making it difficult to classify him as a finisher.With the ball, he took 51 wickets in 57 innings at an economy rate of just over seven runs. He has bowled 1,049 legal balls in T20Is, which works out to around 18 deliveries per innings of bowling. This means that he often did not complete his full quota of four overs.Since the start of his T20I career, Sundar has been allowed to bowl his full four overs only 25 times in 57 innings of bowling. When he finished his quota, his economy rate improved to 6.65 compared to his career economy of 7.05, while his strike rate fell to less than 20 balls per wicket compared to 22.2 when bowling only part of his quota.Ashwin also questioned Sundar’s batting role.“Even in batting, they use him as a finisher and he is not a finisher. He should have a floating role like Axar Patel used by the Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid duo. It seems a wrong role in using the Washington Sundar. If you really want to give Washington a long rope then bring him right after the end of Powerplay. know if he can grow into that reliable all-rounder,” said Ashwin.Sundar made his India debut before turning 18 and has now spent almost a decade around the senior side. However, questions remain about whether he is seen as a batsman who can bowl off-spin or as a frontline off-spinner who can contribute with the bat.In his last 12 T20Is, excluding two washed out matches in Australia, Sundar’s bowling workload has varied significantly. He bowled in five of his last 10 innings of bowling, while in another match he bowled just 1.2 overs despite taking career-best figures of 3 for 3 after cleaning up Australia’s tail.The Ireland series may not have major consequences, but the debate over Sundar’s role continues as India look to build an established T20 side.