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Spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar is set to join the Indian team in Colombo ahead of the country's crunch Asia Cup final against defending champions Sri Lanka. As per a report in Cricbuzz, Sundar will link up with the Indian squad as a cover for Axar Patel, who in the match against Bangladesh on September 15 (Friday) sustained some nasty blows to his forearm and fingers. The Indian team physio was also spotted working on Axar's hamstring during the dying stages of the match.
Axar scored 42 runs off 34 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes against Bangladesh but lost his wicket at the wrong time which ultimately allowed Shakib Al Hasan's side to register a victory. With the ball, Axar looked like a pale shadow of himself throughout the tournament as he leaked runs and failed to provide India with timely strikes.
Moving forward, it would be interesting to see Axar's progress as the all-rounder is part of the Indian squad for the ODI World Cup.
Talking about Sundar, the 23-year-old is a handy cricketer who can contribute in more than just one manner. The all-rounder last played an ODI game for India in January earlier in the year. In his ODI career, Sundar has played 16 matches and bagged as many wickets while he has scored 233 at a strike rate of 85.66 with the help of one half-century.
It's important to note that Sundar is part of the Indian squad that will travel to China to compete in the Asian Games under Ruturaj Gaikwad's captaincy. He will rejoin the Asian Games squad soon after the conclusion of the 2023 Asia Cup final.
Even if Axar misses the final match against Sri Lanka, there is no surety on whether Sundar will directly make his way to the playing XI. But with pitches offering enough purchase to spinners and Sri Lanka boasting multiple left-handed batters in their rank, Sundar might be a good weapon for Rohit Sharma.
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