Treat to watch: Washington Sundar predicts bright Test future for Manav Suthar

India all-rounder Washington Sundar believes debutant spinner Manav Suthar has all the ingredients to become a major force in Indian Test cricket after the left-hander starred on his first appearance against Afghanistan. Sundar said Suthar’s skills and work ethic have been evident for years and predicted that the youngster will win a lot of matches for India.

Suthar was one of the most prominent artists for India on the 2nd of the one-off Test against Afghanistan at Mullanpur, taking three wickets and to help the hosts tighten their grip on the competition. The Rajasthan spinner justified the faith reposed in him by the selectors with a confident display on the surface that offered increasing help to the slow bowlers.

IND vs AFG, TEST DAY 2 ONLY: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD

In the post-Day 2 press conference, Washington heaped praise on his spin-bowling teammate, highlighting the qualities that make Suthar one of the top-rated young spinners on the domestic circuit.

“He (Suthar) has been brilliant. As players who have played with him over the last few years, we know what he can really bring to the table, especially in this format,” enthused Sundar.

“The amount of skills he’s got and the way he’s worked on them over the years is a real treat to watch. It’s amazing for him to bring out his best skill sets, especially on Day 2, … He’s got great skill sets as a true spinner. In terms of how much he can really spin the ball and how much spin he can really get on the ball — that’s always been the power he puts on the ball and releases. ball That’s an amazing skill as well as access to each individual delivery,”

For most of the last decade, the legendary Indian duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had an absolute monopoly in the Test match department. However, with the national selectors resting key veterans of the series, Suthar’s seamless integration with Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar proves that the next generation of Indian slow bowlers is fully prepared to take on international responsibilities.

HOW WAS MANAV SUTHAR’S TEST DEBUT IN INDIA?

Manav Suthar’s introduction to Test cricket could not have been written more perfectly. Brought into the bowling attack as early as the sixth over of the innings, the Rajasthan spinner struck gold with his very first game in international cricket by luring Afghanistan opener Abdul Malik into a top sweep that landed safely in Indian hands.

The youngster didn’t stop there and continued to make the most of the curve offered by the New Chandigarh surface to completely outclass the opposition batsmen. In the 20th over, Suthar extracted a beautiful drift and a sharp outside edge from the dangerous Rahmanullah Gurbaz before adding Afsar Zazai later in the evening to end a spectacular Day 2 with brilliant figures of 3/21 from his 15.5 overs.

INDIA BOASTS UPPER HAND OVER AFGHANISTAN

At the end of Day 2, the host nation put themselves in an absolutely unassailable position to force a decisive victory. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India amassed a mammoth first innings total of 564/8 before declaring, thanks to magnificent centuries from captain Shubman Gill (126) and vice-captain KL Rahul (100), supported by resilient half-centuries from Sai Sudharsan (521) and Washington (811*), Ridarsu (81).

In response, Afghanistan’s batting line-up crumbled badly under intense pressure from India’s multiple spin attack on a rapidly deteriorating surface. The visitors ended the second day with a stunning 113/5 after 39.5 overs, still trailing by a mountain of 451 runs. While Rahmat Shah (43*) holds the fort for the visitors, Suthar and the rest of the Indian bowling unit will look to launch a quick finish on Day 3.

– The end

Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

07 Jun 2026 19:24 IST