Washington Sundar (ANI photo) NEW DELHI: Team India’s surprise decision to field Washington Sundar at the prestigious No.3 position in the Kolkata Test has sparked a heated debate, with former batsman Dinesh Karthik openly questioning the logic of the move. The slot, usually reserved for a specialist top-order batsman, was vacated after Sai Sudharsan was dropped – but head coach Gautam Gambhir’s choice of replacement left many confused.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Known primarily as a bowling all-rounder, Sundar scored 29 and 31 in two innings. While these were some of India’s highest returns in a low-scoring Test, Karthik believes the experiment could carry long-term risks, particularly for Sundar’s bowling – the discipline that earned him a Test cap.
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“Where does he look at Washington Sundar, the Test player? Is he a bowler who can bat? Now when you send him at three, you’re almost telling him he has to focus a lot more on batting,” Karthik said in a Cricbuzz video, highlighting how drastically the role shift is changing expectations.Karthik warned that the physical and mental strain required to prepare for role No. 3 could erode Sundar’s primary skill. “The minute he starts spending those long hours batting in practice, you tend to cut back on bowling practice because it’s physically impossible to be good at both,” he warned.Calling the move “very tricky”, Karthik said Sundar’s elevation was more like a temporary adjustment than a long-term vision. “So the message is very clear that we are looking at big runs from you. That could affect his bowling in the long run. It is very tricky,” he added.With Shubman Gill likely to miss the second Test due to a neck injury, the composition of India’s top order remains uncertain. All eyes will be on Gambhir to see if Sundar is again assigned the most controlled batting position in Test cricket – or if he is once again assigned a role that suits his strengths.
