'He's going to be one of India's leading all-rounders. He's a serious cricketer': Shastri's bold prediction for SRH star
Ravi Shastri was immensely impressed with the 22-year-old's batting on Sunday where he laced three boundaries and a six to score a 19-ball 25
Former India head Ravi Shastri heaped immense praise on India's 22-year-old star after watching him bat in the final league game of the ongoing 2022 Indian Premier League where there Sunrisers Hyderabad player scored 25 runs off 19 balls that helped the team set a challenging total at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai against Punjab Kings. (Follow IPL 2022 full coverage)
Shastri was immensely impressed with Washington Sundar's batting on Sunday where the SRH all-rounder laced three boundaries and a six to help the team bounce back from 96 for five to 154 for six in a space if almost five overs.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo on his batting, Shastri predicted that Sundar can become one of India's leading all-rounders in the game across formats in the near future and backed the youngster to achieve it.
“He is going to be one of India's leading all-rounders. He is the future. There is Jadeja and three years down the line, if he is still fit he will play. They there is Axar around. But this guy is a premier all-rounder, across all formats. He is a serious cricketer. He is still very young and has to understand his own game, how good a player he is and his shot selection. He has to work on his fitness so that he is not injury prone. And India have got a serious cricketer. He only has to look at himself in the mirror and say, 'I want to be the leading all-rounder in Indian cricket over the next three years', and he can do it," he said.
In nine innings this season, Sundar has scored 101 runs for SRH at a strike rate of 146.38 and picked six wickets at an economy rate of 8.54.
Despite his performance, Sundar was not included in the T20I squad that was announced by the BCCI for the impending series against South Africa at home next month.