Overview
- India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said Washington Sundar has been selected as a batting all-rounder for the ODI series, citing expected dew limiting spin.
- Ravichandran Ashwin urged Gautam Gambhir to treat Sundar as a bowler who can bat and to bowl out his overs to avoid role confusion.
- Sundar has bowled a combined seven overs without a wicket in the first two ODIs and has scores of 13 and 1 after batting at No. 5 and No. 6.
- Ashwin questioned India’s finishing in Hardik Pandya’s absence and suggested considering Nitish Kumar Reddy as a like-for-like power-hitting all-rounder.
- Role volatility has stretched across formats, including a recent Test appearance at No. 3, with Dinesh Karthik warning that top-order batting focus can dilute his bowling development.