Team India were recently bolstered by the return of all-rounder Washington Sundar ahead of their T20 World Cup 2026 group stage match against Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The 26-year-old was dealing with a side strain and a rib fracture after the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara on January 11.
Since then, he has been recovering at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, before being officially cleared by the physios.
Sundar is joining an Indian camp riddled with other injuries and availability issues, the most recent one being Abhishek Sharma, who is suffering from a stomach infection. Although the star opener is recovering well, there is a high chance that he could miss the upcoming contest.
Former India cricketer Krishnamachari Srikkanth had an interesting suggestion, where he urged the team management to bring back Washington Sundar straight into the mix, but in an unconventional role.
“If I was the captain, I would have had a different thought process. Sanju is totally out of form. I will bring Washington Sundar in and make him open. I want him to be fit and playing the match against Pakistan. If Abhishek comes back for the Pakistan game, I will push Sundar to eight and remove Rinku Singh. My thinking is out of the box here. Samson has been given a fair run and he has not done anything,” K Srikkanth had said on his YouTube channel.
On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why India must not consider playing Washington Sundar in the IND vs NAM T20 World Cup 2026 match.
#1 Washington Sundar does not fit India’s high-octane approach
Simply put, Washington Sundar comes across as a complete misfit in India’s modern-day T20 batting line-up and their unabashed approach. Granted, the all-rounder’s batting has improved considerably, chipping in some valuable contributions batting slightly up the order for the Gujarat Titans (GT) and for India at times as well, but that does not warrant a spot in the opening combination. Until recently, he was viewed as the backup for the No.8 slot, and nothing more.
Given India’s philosophy behind aggressive openers is to make the most of the fielding restrictions and provide a launching pad, Sundar is not the right candidate for that task. In the very limited opportunities he has had to bat in the powerplay in his T20 career, only 40 runs have been scored in 34 deliveries at a strike rate of 117.64.
More concerning than the lack of runs is Sundar’s dot-ball percentage in the powerplay, which reads 47 percent, nowhere near India’s high-standards.
Despite India’s batting depth, they don’t have the luxury for Sundar to settle into his role at the top and take his time at the crease, and gradually ramp up the gears. He is not the type of batter who can hit boundaries from the get-go, even during the fielding restrictions, that too against the new ball.
#2 Limited and unimpressive record at the top order in white-ball cricket
This is not the first time that Washington Sundar has been considered as a contingency plan after an injury to a top-order batter. He was used in the role during the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) opener against the Mumbai Indians (MI), where he scored a 16-ball 10. He has never been used as an opening batter in the competition since.
The left-hander also opened the innings in an ODI against Australia in 2023, where he scored a 30-ball 18.
The most recent set of instances where he played as an opener in T20s also came in 2023 itself, during the 2023 Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and the 2023-24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). In those outings, he scored 39 runs off 36 deliveries at a strike rate of 108.30.
His only good record as an opener comes during his time with the Salem Spartans, in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), but his stellar season came almost a decade ago.
#3 India do not need a third spinner as much as they need a stable top order
In an ideal world, India would have three spinners in their playing XI, a formula which has been tried, tested, and proven before. However, the need for a second frontline seamer and batting depth have outweighed the need for a third spinner.
Given that there is no room in the lower middle order and it is highly unlikely that vice-captain Axar Patel will be displaced under any circumstances, it only leaves India the room at the top to bring in Washington Sundar.
While the need for a right-arm off-spinner is arguably justified against Namibia’s left-handed batters like Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, and Zane Green, it cannot come at the cost of a specialist opening combination. Moreover, India tackled left-handers like Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Rachin Ravindra, Ryan Rickelton, and David Miller recently without Sundar’s services.
Under such circumstances, with the bowling unit already covered, and possibly further bolstered by Jasprit Bumrah’s return, the focus has to be to maintain the top-order’s integrity in Abhishek Sharma’s potential absence.
Edited by Gokul Nair
