Despite axar

With Ravindra Jadeja: With Ravindra Jadeja bidding adieu to T20Is post the World Cup triumph in June, it means that a spot for an all-rounder who bowls spin in the Indian T20I set-up is open.

With Axar Patel a sure-shot certainty for India’s title defence in 2026, the two-year cycle presents a good chance for off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar to become a regular fixture and fill up the void left by Jadeja’s absence.

In India’s 4-1 series win over Zimbabwe earlier this month, Washington, who made his T20I debut in 2017, was named Player of the Series after picking eight scalps across all five games at an economy rate of 5.17 – where his control over lengths and forcing batters to commit errors stood out.