Gautam Gambhir put under scanner for allotting ‘wrong role’ to Washington Sundar: ‘If you want to give him long rope…’

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin asked questions of the team management headed by head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer, and advised them to give better “role clarity” to Sundar if they want to give him a long rope across formats.

Ashwin stated that if Sundar has to feature in the playing XI, then he needs to be asked to bowl four overs every time he plays a T20I for the Men in Blue. He also advised the team management to stop using Sundar as a finisher and rather give him the role of being a “floater.”

"If you remember the T20 World Cup, Axar Patel, who was the vice-captain, was dropped against South Africa, and Washington Sundar played in his place. In batting, Sundar is being used as a finisher, but he's not one. He should be used as a floater. It seems like a wrong role for him," he added.

‘Long rope’

The legendary Indian spinner also added that if a long rope needs to be given to Sundar, then the team management needs to get more out of Sundar, the bowler. He also said that Sundar should be asked to bowl four overs in every T20I match he plays going forward.

"If you want to give him a long rope, then bring him onto the bowl as soon as the powerplay is done. You have to give him four overs. Axar always bowls, and Sundar should be the same. If you don't give him bowling, how will you find out whether he could be a dependable all-rounder or not?" asked Ashwin.

The Shreyas Iyer captaincy era got off to a bad start after India went down by 34 runs in the first T20I. The second and last game of the two-match series will now be played on Sunday, June 28.

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