Washington Sundar (; born 5 October 1999) is an Indian international

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. An all-rounder who bats left-handed and bowls right-arm

off-spin Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to ...

, he plays for

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

in domestic cricket and

Gujarat Titans The Gujarat Titans, also known as GT, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The home ground of the team is Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The franchise is o ...

in the

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...

. He made his debut for the

Indian cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Men in Blue, represents India in international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and is a full member nation of the International Cricket Council with T ...

in 2017 against

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Sundar was a member of the squad which won the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Early life

Washington Sundar was born in a

Tamil Hindu Tamil Hindus () are the Tamil-speaking people who follow Hinduism. Hinduism was the first religion to reach the ancient Tamil kingdoms. Tamil Nadu is home to one of the largest functioning Hindu temples in the world. Tamil influence was o ...

family on 5 October 1999 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was named by his father Mani Sundar in honour of a man named P. D. Washington, who had sponsored the elder Sundar's cricket passion. His sister Shailaja Sundar (also known as M. S. Shailaja) is also a professional cricketer. He started playing cricket from the age of four or five. He received his early education from St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School. and completed an undergraduate degree from the Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai.

Domestic career

Sundar made his first-class debut for

in the 2016–17 Ranji Trophy on 6 October 2016. Like

Ravichandran Ashwin Ravichandran Ashwin (; ) (born 17 September 1986) is an Indian cricketer. He is a right-arm off spin bowler and a lower order batter. Widely regarded as one of the most prolific spinners of all time, he represented the Indian cricket team an ...

before him, Sundar went from being a batsman as a youngster to making his name as an off-spinner. In October 2017, he scored his maiden first-class century for Tamil Nadu against

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

in the

2017–18 Ranji Trophy The 2017–18 Ranji Trophy was the 84th season of the Ranji Trophy, the premier first-class cricket tournament that took place in India between October 2017 and January 2018. Vidarbha won the tournament, beating Delhi by 9 wickets in the final, ...

. He was also selected for the national U-19 team for the 2016 U-19 World Cup.

IPL career

In 2017, he was selected by Rising Pune Supergiant as a replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin. He made his

Twenty20 Twenty20 (abbreviated T20) is a shortened format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the county cricket, inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two t ...

debut for Rising Pune Supergiants in the

2017 Indian Premier League The 2017 Indian Premier League season (also known as IPL 10 and branded as Vivo IPL 2017) was the tenth edition of the Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI ...

on 22 April 2017. He had received the Player of the Match award in the first qualifier played between

Mumbai Indians The Mumbai Indians are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Indians were founded in 2008 and are owned by India's largest Conglomerate (company), co ...

and Pune Supergiants, in which he took 3 wickets for 16 runs. In January 2018, he was bought by the

Royal Challengers Bangalore The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, formerly Royal Challengers Bangalore, also known as RCB, are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 ...

in the 2018 IPL auction. In October the same year, he was named in India C's squad for the

2018–19 Deodhar Trophy The 2018–19 Deodhar Trophy was the 46th edition of the Deodhar Trophy, a List A cricket competition in India. It was contested between three teams selected by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). It was played from 23 to 27 Octob ...

. In the 2022 IPL Auction, Sundar was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for ₹8.75 crores. In August 2022, Sundar played for

Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire Cricket Club represents the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire in Cricket in England, English cricket. The club has held first-class cricket, first-class status since it was founded in 1864. Lancashire's ho ...

in the Royal London One-Day Cup and the

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

. He claimed a five-wicket haul in his debut match against

Northamptonshire County Cricket Club Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northa ...

. In the IPL 2025 auction, In the IPL 2025 auction, Washington Sundar was acquired by

for ₹3.2 crore.

International career

In November 2017, Sundar was named in India's

Twenty20 International Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of Twenty20 cricket, in which each team plays a single innings with a maximum of twenty overs. The matches are played between international teams recognized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). ...

squad for their series against Sri Lanka. Earlier, he was also added to India's

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

(ODI) squad for the same series, after Kedar Jadhav suffered a hamstring injury. He made his ODI debut for India against Sri Lanka on 13 December 2017, his first international wicket being that of Lahiru Thirimanne. He then made his T20I debut for India against Sri Lanka on 24 December 2017. At the age of 18 years and 80 days, he became the youngest player to debut for India in T20Is. In March 2018, Sundar was selected in India's squad for the 2018 Nidahas Trophy against

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

. He was praised by many for his economical bowling inside the powerplay at an economy of less than 6 runs an over. During the series, he bagged a maiden 3-wicket haul, making him the youngest T20I player to do so. He was named the Player of the Series for his performance. He then became a regular member of the Indian T2OI team. Sundar was initially picked for India's 2020-21 Australia tour only as a net bowler. However, injuries to fellow bowlers and the inability for India to fly in replacements at short notice due to quarantine restrictions in effect during the COVID-19 pandemic, saw him win an unexpected first

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

cap on 15 January, in the final Test match of the series at

The Gabba The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Gab ...

. His first Test wicket was Steve Smith, and he scored 62 in his first Test innings in a crucial seventh wicket partnership of 123 with Shardul Thakur which kept India from facing a huge first innings deficit and contributed greatly to India's eventual victory in the Test. With his maiden Test fifty, Sundar became the third Indian to score a half-century on Test debut in Australia. In October 2024, Sundar picked his maiden ten-wicket haul in test cricket against New Zealand.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sundar, Washington 1999 births Living people Indian cricketers India Test cricketers India One Day International cricketers India Twenty20 International cricketers 21st-century Indian sportsmen Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricketers Rising Pune Supergiant cricketers Tamil Nadu cricketers Cricketers from Chennai Tamil sportspeople Indian A cricketers Indian Hindus Sunrisers Hyderabad cricketers Lancashire cricketers Indian expatriate cricketers in England Asian Games medalists in cricket Cricketers at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for India Medalists at the 2022 Asian Games