Washington Sundar’s father reveals origin of RPS spinner’s name

The mystery behind his first name was solved when his father reveled the reason behind his son’s name. “I am a Hindu and come from a very humble family. Two streets away from my home in Triplicane lived an ex-army man called P.D. Washington. He was extremely fond of cricket and would come to watch us play at the Marina ground. He took a liking for my game,” Sundar said in an interaction with The Hindu.

“I was poor and he would buy uniform for me, pay my school fee, get me books, take me to the ground in his cycle and constantly encourage me,” Sundar added.

Sundar, who himself was a cricketer and had made it to the Ranji team probables, said that to him the former army officer was everything. And he was the happiest man when he managed to impress selectors.

Sundar’s first son was born a few months later after Washington passed away.

“My wife had a difficult delivery. But the baby survived. As per the Hindu custom, I whispered a God’s name, ‘Srinivasan,’ in his ear. But I decided to name him Washington in memory of the man who had done so much for me. Had I had a second son, I would have called him Washington Jr,” he concluded.

Washington was exceptional during Pune’s match against two-times IPL champions Mumbai Indians where he picked up three wickets, which eventually helped the Supergiant’s make it into their maiden IPL final.