Washington Sundar pulled off a memorable 7-wicket haul against New Zealand on Day 1 of the 2nd Test in Pune at the MCA Stadium on Thursday. Sundar came in as a replacement for Kuldeep Yadav and he didn't disappoint a bit. Out of his 7 scalps, 5 were bowled dismissals, which makes him only the 5th Indian bowler to achieve the feat in Test cricket.
The innings was dominated by the Indian spinners as veteran Ravichandran Ashwin took the other three wickets. With age catching up Ashwin, many of the fans feel that Sundar could be a potential replacement for the 38-year old as he is also a spin-bowling all-rounder.
But former India cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar feels it's too early to predict that the 25-year old Indian will replace the star all-rounder in the near future. Manjrekar strongly feels that Ravi Ashwin is still very effective when it comes to the Indian conditions.
"This is the second time that I'm hearing we looking beyond Ashwin and to be very honest, in that series against Bangladesh and the one before that and even in the first Test, I just don't see a bowler whose end is near or you start looking out for a replacement yet. I think it's a little premature. Especially in Indian conditions, I think he'll continue to have enough for quite a bit of time to come'', he told ESPNCricinfo.
The 59-year didn't deny that there is promise in Sundar but it is just one performance and he has to prove it again.
"Washi has started off well but it is just one performance. What you need really, although it seems like it's easier to turn up and bowl on turning pitches, then you wonder why foreign spinners don't get as much from the pitch. So, you need to have certain qualities that Washi showed which is quick, accurate and just little variation to get those wickets because the pitches are always going to help. So, yes, by just one sample that we've seen in this game, there is promise there'', he concluded.