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‘As good as any batter…’: Indian coach backs Washington Sundar playing at No. 3 against South Africa
Washington Sundar was sent to bat at No. 3 during first Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens, for which he got backing by India's batting coach.
Last Updated on - November 20, 2025 10:12 PM IST
Indian team is currently engaged with South Africa in a two-match Test series, and is facing a turning point in their lineup, as the management is facing issues with cementing a player on the No. 3 spot- with Sai Sudharsan trying to prove himself worthy of the position- as that slot is a crucial position in red-ball format.
However, in the first Test, Washington Sundar was given the chance to play at the No. 3 position, for which he has also been backed by batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, who feels that sending Washington at the No. 3 slot was a decent decision, while he also praised Sundar for the way he batted against South Africa at Eden Gardens. Though this came in the expense of benching Sai Sudharsan.
Though a number of questions were raised over the decision of moving the allrounder up in the order, his performance were not that bad. Washington Sundar scored 31 and 29 runs in the first and second innings of the first Test at the No. 3 position, and was looking completely composed throughout this time. It is worth noting that he was also the highest scorer for the team on a tough pitch.
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Sitanshu Kotak remarked that Washington Sundar’s performance was as good as any other batter from the team, and mentioned that he was satisfied with the runs he scored without having any sort of experience at such a high place in the order.
“When you think that against South Africa, two left arm spinners may be useful, and you also want a wrist spinner. In that process, if you go on with the second left arm spinner, then you are obviously going with one less batter. But the amount of runs Washington has scored, he is as good as any batter,” Kotak said in a press-conference.
Speaking about Washington Sundar, he showed his ability to bat well in the lower-middle order in the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy in England earlier this year. He ended up scoring 284 runs in 8 innings, including a century and a half-century. Since then, most of his focus has been on batting which has also led to him getting lesser overs.