“Washington Sundar should be nurtured as a finisher” - Robin Uthappa suggests the Indian team management

Robin Uthappa urged the Indian team management to nurture Washington Sundar as a designated finisher (No. 6/7) in ODIs, arguing his batting potential is being ignored due to focus on his off-spin. Sundar was dropped for the 3rd ODI vs SA.

06 Dec 2025 14:07 IST

New Update

Former Indian keeper-batter Robin Uthappa has suggested to the Indian team management, stating that the bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar should be nurtured as a finisher in the future in the 50-over format.

Speaking exclusively on his YouTube channel, Uthappa asserted that Sundar can replace Ravindra Jadeja in the ODI team after the ICC ODI World Cup 2027 in South Africa, adding that there are very few off-spinners in India who can also bat.

“In my opinion, Washington Sundar should be nurtured, and you should develop him as a finisher in the position that Jadeja currently plays. You have to prepare him to eventually replace Jadeja over a period of time, maybe after the 2027 World Cup, so that you have a proper finishing player. I think that mindset is there for him, and by then I hope he also gets a lot more bowling time in the middle, because, as we can see, there aren’t many off-spinners in India who can contribute with the bat,” Uthappa said on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, Uthappa has also shared his two cents on the Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna not living up to the expectations in the second ODI, leaking 85 runs as India suffered a four-wicket defeat to South Africa.

“If you look at Prasidh Krishna, he has always played as the third fast bowler under Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj, or Arshdeep. He never had the onus on himself, where he was like among the couple of fast bowlers. Now you’re giving him the opportunity to be the main fast bowler of the Indian team. Now, unless you expose him to that situation, how will you understand whether he can handle that responsibility or not, how he will respond under pressure, being one of the top two fast bowlers of the team?” Uthappa questioned.

“Unless we utilize him, how will we know? Unless you give the opportunity, as a coach, captain, and selector, how will you know if we can give him that responsibility later on? You have to see how they respond to that opportunity. As far as I know, the conversation is going on, communication is there,” he concluded.

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