India vs New Zealand: Concerns about batting depth prompt selectors to include Washington Sundar in squad

Down 0-1, there is also plenty of interest in what sort of pitch India opt for at Pune, especially after their batting was exposed by the Kiwi seamers in Bengaluru. While it indeed came in extreme conditions, especially after the pitch was under covers for an entire day, there is also admission in India’s ranks that the batting depth that has often rescued them in the past is missing.

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Squad Update: Washington Sundar added to squad for the second and third Test#INDvNZ | @IDFCFIRSTBank

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While there is Axar Patel in the ranks, it is understood that it was the team management which put in a request to include Washington. They believe that his finger spin could come in handy at Pune and he can also be a reliable option as a batsman. Despite being a regular member of India’s white-ball set-up, Washington hasn’t played a Test since 2021 when Virat Kohli was captain and Ravi Shastri the head coach.

India, especially after Gautam Gambhir took over as head coach, have preferred depth in both batting and bowling. And with the tour of Australia coming up , having all-round options will give India the option to field a strong pace attack without worrying about team balance.

Turner in Pune?

While including a fifth spin bowling option in Washington may point to India possibly opting for a turning pitch at Pune, whether they take that option remains to be seen. As such, there is no reason for India to press the panic button and opt for a rank turner as their first innings total of 46 was more of an aberration in challenging conditions. But with World Test Championship points up for grabs, India could be tempted to go back to their old formula for success.

Call on Pant

Meanwhile, the selectors have left it to the team management to take a call on Pant’s inclusion for the second Test. After taking a blow to his knee during the first innings, Pant didn’t don the keeping gloves with Dhruv Jurel coming in as a substitute. Though Pant batted in the second innings and scored 99, captain Rohit Sharma admitted that they need to be ‘extra careful’ with him especially given the surgeries he has had.

“He’s had a lot of minor surgeries and one big surgery on his knee and went through a lot of trauma, to be honest, in the last one and a half years. So it’s just about being extra careful, not just careful with him,” Rohit said.

Even when Pant was included for the Tests against Bangladesh, the selectors were concerned about his workload, especially when keeping to spinners.

“When you’re keeping, you have to bend every ball with your knee going down and the wicket being what it was, we thought it is the right thing to do for him to stay inside and then get 100 percent ready for the next one,” Rohit added.

“It’s just to be a little careful about where he is at and what he is to us. Even when he was batting, he was not comfortably running. He was trying to only put the ball in the stands.”

With the Australia trip coming up and Jurel being a reliable option both behind the wickets and with the bat, the selectors have left it to the team management to decide whether or not to rest Pant at Pune.