Washington Sundar set to join India's squad in Delhi
The Indian cricket team, led by captain Suryakumar Yadav, has announced that Washington Sundar will be joining the squad in Delhi, where they will play their next match against Namibia on February 12th. This comes as a relief for the team, as Sundar has been sidelined with a side strain since the first ODI against New Zealand last month.
Suryakumar, speaking after India's 29-run victory over the USA in their campaign opener, confirmed that Sundar will be joining the team in Delhi. "Washy [Washington] is joining us in Delhi," he said. "He's good, everything is fine."
Despite the injury, India decided not to replace Sundar in their T20 World Cup squad, as the injury was not too serious and he was unlikely to be part of the first-choice XI. This decision was made despite the fact that Sundar was replaced by Ayush Badoni in the ODI series.
Jasprit Bumrah, India's pace bowling spearhead, also missed the USA game due to illness. Suryakumar attributed Bumrah's absence to a high fever caused by the weather, similar to the case of Abhishek Sharma. "He was having a high fever because of the weather, like how Abhishek [Sharma] was under the weather. But the rest everything is good," he said.
The USA gave India a scare in the first half of the match, reducing them to 77 for 6. However, Suryakumar's unbeaten 84 off 49 balls lifted them to 161 for 9, which proved to be enough in the end. Suryakumar was confident of rescuing the side, but he also acknowledged that the batters could have been "a little smarter" in their approach.
"Only I can tell how much pressure I was feeling," Suryakumar said. "But at the same time, I had the belief that I had batted in similar situations. And I have played a lot of cricket in the maidans of Mumbai, so I knew if I bat till the end, I can make a difference."
Suryakumar also reflected on the pitch conditions, which were different from what they are usually like at the Wankhede. He noted that the curator and the groundsmen tried their best to prepare the best pitch, but some things were beyond their control. "There was not enough sunlight to have the pitch rolled and watered," he said. "But we cannot be brushing everything under the carpet. We could have batted a little better."
Despite the win, Suryakumar emphasized the importance of learning from the match. He suggested that the team could have batted a little better or a little smarter, highlighting the value of small partnerships in building a strong total. "Two small-small partnerships could have got us to 160 rather than one batter or two batters trying to play till the end," he said.
