Washington Sundar (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

From moulding Washington Sundar into an off-spinner to seeing him become an effective Test allrounder, coach Mhambrey outlines the player’s evolution
In Jan 2016, Washington Sundar went to the U-19 World Cup believing he was a top-order batter. Little did the 16-year-old know that U-19 head coach Rahul Dravid and bowling coach Paras Mhambrey were tapping into his off-spin bowling skills.
“Rahul and I feel he is untapped as an off-spinner. It’s difficult to break his thinking right now. He can be a good first-class off-spinner much like R Ashwin. He has a role model from his state,” Mhambrey had told TOI on the eve of the final then.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Cut to Nov 2024. Washington was taking the field for India in a Test match in Perth ahead of Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. He is now part of two successive Test wins on two of the paciest pitches in Australia.
There’s nothing flashy about Washington. He isn’t the chattiest person around. Yet, he has been effective. “The Washi of 2016 was a very shy boy who wouldn’t talk much. But he was always a good listener. Now, he is mature and can have a two-way conversation. He will take inputs but he doesn’t mind coming back and saying that it’s not working for him,” Mhambrey told TOI on Friday.

A year after the U-19 World Cup, Washington made IPL and India ‘A’ teams on the strength of his off-spin — a remarkable progress for a teenager. Mhambrey puts it down to a sharp mind ticking inside his head: “He is a smooth operator. He will think about the things he has been told. He’ll then figure out what works for him. So, he started working hard on his off-spin and the improvement showed every season.”
His selection over Ashwin and Jadeja in Perth has sparked a debate, but going by Mhambrey, it was something that was deliberated upon earlier in the year as well. India captain Rohit Sharma has been supportive of Washington’s ability, even publicly criticizing IPL’s ‘impact player’ rule for stunting his growth.

“We were talking if it was time to prepare for life beyond Ashwin and Jadeja during the England series earlier in the year. Washington fits the bill. Rohit is fond of him because he is not someone who will be a nuisance if he is not played. He will do exactly what the team asks him to do. But he takes immense pride in what he does,” Mhambrey pointed out.
Yet, Mhambrey concedes that Washington is not a conventional off-spinner. “Let’s get it straight. He is not a regular off-spinner. Certainly not like Ashwin who can turn the ball big,” he said.

So what makes Washington tick? “He has worked hard on getting the ball to turn. He never thought about becoming another Ashwin. We worked on bowling from different angles, and not to tamper with his action for the sake of getting turn. That could have rattled him when he was young. Then, it was more about just bowling, a lot. Now, he understands mixing the pace and line with angles, and is accurate. The pace through the air and off the pitch usually gives the batters less time to adjust,” Mhambrey said.
Is it enough for him to pip Ashwin and Jadeja? Mhambrey feels his batting credentials alongside his bowling ability on bouncy pitches have convinced the team management. “His batting fundamentals are very strong. He plays pace and bounce very well. I would say he can bat in the topseven. And his style of bowling can be a handful on faster, bouncier tracks. He is someone who could even bowl in powerplays in T20s in his early days,” Mhambrey said.
Ashwin and Jadeja may still be an integral part of the team’s plans going deep into the series in Australia. But Washington has certainly got going.