Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes Washington Sundar might find it difficult to hang on to his place in ODIs if his bowling doesn’t improve. Sundar scored a fine knock of 52 runs in the opening ODI against England but returned with figures of 0-13 in his four overs.
In the second ODI, Sundar could not bowl because of a hamstring injury and he was later replaced by Harsh Dubey in the squad. However, Chopra reckons Tilak Varma can replace Washington Sundar in India’s ODI squad if the latter doesn’t improve his bowling.
Sundar has scalped 30 wickets in 34 ODI matches at an average of 30.53.
“If Washi’s bowling numbers don’t improve, why would you carry him? If he is not bowling, he is not an all-rounder. If he has to only bat, Tilak Varma can also do that, or someone else can do that. Plenty of things might actually happen, but it’s not a bad suggestion,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
However, Chopra highlighted that Tilak Varma’s place in T20Is was also questioned recently when he failed to get going against the spinners and Rajat Patidar was named as a potential replacement.
“I am very curious because when Tilak is playing, it’s asked why he is being played and why he has been made the vice-captain, as his numbers against spin have become bad, and that he should be dropped and Rajat Patidar should be brought in his place,” he observed.
Chopra said Tilak Varma can bowl the same number of overs which Washington Sundar is bowling.
“Tilak’s name isn’t there in ODI cricket. Washi’s name is there, and he gets a lot of chances to play. He is mostly expected to bat, or else he delivers as a batter, not as much as a bowler. It’s a valid question because if you are searching for a batter who can bowl a few overs, Tilak will also bowl as many overs, and Tilak will bat better than Washi,” he said.
Chopra urged the selectors to invest more in Tilak Varma since he is India’s T20I vice-captain.
“So, if he is your T20I vice-captain, why not invest a little more faith in Tilak’s abilities, that you make him a part of ODIs as well? I think that can also happen. I feel we will see a lot of changes until 2027, and players coming and going,” Chopra observed.
Varma has scored 68 runs in five ODIs at an average of 22.67.
