Last Updated: June 28, 2026 04:37 PM
Washington Sundar is struggling to find his role in white-ball cricket. His position on the team is becoming increasingly unclear lately. Better spinners are available in India’s white-ball cricket setup.
The decline of Washington Sundar is becoming very obvious now. He was once an important player for the Indian team. But now his role seems very confusing indeed. Let’s understand why his white-ball career is declining.
Washington Sundar’s Role Confusion in White-ball Cricket
Washington Sundar is confused about whether he is an all-rounder: a bowler who can bat or a batter who bowls. Decline of Washington Sundar stems from this confusion. He rarely gets to complete his full bowling.
Batsmen at number 7 or 8 do not suit his natural batting style, honestly. Not completing overs means wasting his bowling skills. Not batting in the middle means wasting batting talent. India’s White-ball Team loses matches because of this. His role definition puzzle always creates major problems.
He played 32 ODI matches for the Indian team. Took 30 wickets in those ODI matches there. A bowling average of 30 is quite decent actually. The economy rate under 5 shows his quality clearly. But scored only 391 runs in 21 innings. The average of 21 runs is extremely poor honestly.
In T20I cricket, he played 61 matches total. Took 51 wickets at an average of 24 runs. An economy rate just over 7 is acceptable there. But his batting statistics are very disappointing overall.
Only 274 runs in 26 innings in T20Is. An average of 16 runs per innings is poor. A strike rate of 130 is not good for a finisher. The decline of Washington Sundar in T20Is is very clear.
Other Spinners Performing Better Than Sundar
Kuldeep Yadav is a better spinner than Washington. Harsh Dubey is taking more wickets than him constantly. Ravi Bishnoi is performing much better in the middle overs. These spinners are genuine wicket-takers for India.
Sundar is often the second-choice spinner in India’s setup. He struggles in the middle overs very badly there. Between overs 11 to 40 in ODIs. Takes only 7 to 14 wickets in. T20Is are showing his struggle in the middle overs.
Axar Patel is sometimes preferred over Sundar. India’s White-ball Team has better options available. Management chooses other spinners over him frequently.
Cannot Be India’s Finisher – The Real Problem
Washington Sundar cannot hit big shots easily. Not a natural power-hitter in a lower-order position. Cannot deliver quickfire knocks in death overs badly. Better options are available for the finisher role in the team.
Vipraj Nigam can finish matches very well. Anukul Roy shows great potential for the role. Suryansh Shedge is also a better option as a finisher. In IPL 2026, he batted at the number 4 position, batting higher in order completely. Scored 377 runs at a strike rate of 150.
Three half-centuries in 16 innings he scored. But this does not mean he can finish matches for India from the lower order. His IPL success does not translate there. Decline of Washington Sundar will continue in India’s White-ball Team unless he changes his role.
