Gambhir & Suryakumar’s baffling tactics: Washington Sundar plays as a ‘fielder’ in IND vs AUS 4th T20I
India used Shivam Dube and Abhishek Sharma as the fifth bowler over Washington Sundar. Combined, they both gave away 56 runs in 4 overs.
Since taking over, Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav have done a splendid job as India’s T20I head coach and captain. There have been questionable tactics and selection calls, but who doesn’t? Even MS Dhoni made mistakes, and he is often considered to be one of the greatest white-ball captains.
Gambhir & Suryakumar’s questionable tactics
But, in the India vs Australia 4th T20I in Hobart, the duo made some baffling decisions which led everyone to scratch their heads. Let’s not delve into the selections; we’ll keep our criticism focused on the usage of their resources. Washington Sundar, who came into the side for Kuldeep Yadav, didn’t bowl a single ball.
You might think that’s fine. Perhaps the pitch wasn’t great for spinners. Well, Varun Chakaravarthy and Axar Patel both played and both gave away less than 9 overs an over, which was below the innings economy. Varun took 2 wickets, Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Owen, as well.
Washington Sundar’s numbers against right handers in T20s are not bad. Surely a decent option to have tried an over or two ahead of Dube and Abhishek.
— Prasanna (@prasannalara) November 2, 2025
So, the surface was fine. Why didn’t Washington bowl then? Shivam Dube was tried in the 8th over but gave away 15 runs. Everyone assumed he wouldn’t bowl again. But he did. And not just one but two overs. He leaked 28 runs in his remaining overs and picked up a wicket.
Why didn’t Washington Sundar bowl?
He was getting used as the 5th bowler, but since he was expensive, Abhishek Sharma was brought on to complete the quota. That happened in the 16th over. Abhishek was trusted over Washington. Why? There could be just one reason. That right-handers were batting and it was a a positive match-up.
But one has to question, didn’t India know this already? Apart from Travis Head, Australia doesn’t have any left-handed batters in the team. If they didn’t wish to bowl him at righties, then why was Washington even played? Shouldn’t Rinku Singh have played in this case since he won’t bat in the top 7 most likely?
Former Australia captain Aaron Finch was also baffled by the selection. “It seems like a strange selection if they are not going to use him with the ball. There was some confusion when Shivam Dube was going to get his overs out, and they went for Abhishek Sharma to steal an over there as well, just to try to break up the 4 overs. It’s got to be a question. They’ll be sitting back and thinking, ‘What is he bringing to the side if he’s not bowling?’” Finch said during the innings break on JioStar.
India’s bowling in Hobart
Jasprit Bumrah: 26/0 (4)
Arshdeep Singh: 35/3 (4)
Varun Chakaravarthy: 33/2 (4)
Axar Patel: 35/0 (4)
Shivam Dube: 43/1 (3)
Abhishek Sharma: 13/0 (1)
Washington Sundar: Did not bowl
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