'Bowler' Washington Sundar lets his bat talk

‘Washington (Sundar) oru semma (one amazing) batsman,’ said R Ashwin in Tamil after the conclusion of the Test series against England.

Ashwin, usually far too verbose to make his point immediately, couldn’t have been more succinct in using his own language to describe someone from his own state, albeit with a colloquial punch. Loosely translated, it means Washington is an awesome batsman.

That said, ‘semma’ doesn’t paint half the picture, not when a game-changing, career-vaulting 96 not out on a third-day pitch against England in Ahmedabad was the catalyst to the reaction. Neither does it explain the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ inadvertently spilling out of everyone watching the 21-year-old left-hander bat.

What unfolded during the dying hours of the second day’s play and then the first session in the fourth Test wasn’t the first time Washington has shown that he can make a No. 8 look stylish. He has done it thrice already in his four-Test career, but the significance of his latest special cannot be overstated.

Even Ravi Shastri, the coach, couldn’t help himself. "This was an even better innings than Brisbane (against Australia) because you're playing at home, you have a WTC (World Test Championship) final spot on the line and you're 50 runs adrift.”

Which one of Washington’s three half-centuries has made the most impact on the outcome of a Test is up for debate. What isn’t, however, is his talent as a batsman.

It’s a unique journey because Washington came into the Test side as a full-time bowler. In fact, Shastri admitted that he wouldn’t have gotten a chance had there not been several injuries to the original squad.

For obvious reasons, Washington had become a household name via the Indian Premier League, despite being severely underused by the Tamil Nadu team, and was subsequently stereotyped as a white-ball specialist. He went onto play 26 Twenty20 International and one ODI for the national team before a breathtaking 62 in Brisbane in his debut Test.

He also picked up four wickets in the game but that didn’t matter nearly as much as his runs because suddenly there was a bowler who could bat with delectable style and alluded to the possibility of substance.

Then came an unbeaten 85 against England in the first innings of the opening Test. Yes, the pitch was a carpet and the bowling attack was addled, but it’s still an international bowling line-up against a barely-adult playing his second Test. The third Test can be ignored, as a whole.

In the fourth Test, India were 146 for 6 in pursuit of England’s first-innings score of 205. Levelling the score was beginning to look difficult. Pant was the last of the ‘established’ batsman. Out walked Ashwin. In walked Washington.

“He has far more natural ability than I had,” said Shastri when asked if he saw a bit of himself in Washington. “If he can focus on his bowling, India will have a very good number six. Someone who can get you 50, 60, 70 and then bowl you 20 overs. It was my role and he can do it even better.”

A glorious set of hands, pristine footwork, steady head and immaculate timing, resulting in oh-so-divine drives and brazen Nataraj pull-shots worth emulating. Pant’s pyrotechnics may have hogged the limelight on the second day, but Washington’s class wasn’t going to remain in the shadows for long as he neared his century in typically unflustered fashion.

Until then, the cricketer was there for everyone to see. Three wickets in five balls later, you saw the man behind his cricket. He dropped his eyelids slowly, kept it closed for a second or two and proceeded to walk back to the dressing room acknowledging the crowd without a sinew of strain on his face.

“Not once in the three-four years that I have coached him have I seen him lose his calm,” says Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the former Tamil Nadu coach and former India all-rounder. “It’s just a part of his personality. I knew he had it in him to play for India because his demeanour didn’t waver at all. Of course, he’s skilled but it’s his ability to stay composed that sets him apart.”

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