'You will always want somebody like him in your team' - Sunil Gavaskar praises Washington Sundar after all-round heroics vs Afghanistan

Washington Sundar impressed with his all-round skills during India's comprehensive win by an innings and 300 runs against Afghanistan at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh in the one-off Test match.

In the first innings, he remained unbeaten on 52 off 68 balls, hitting five fours and one six. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder bowled just 6.4 overs in Afghanistan's first innings and picked up one wicket. However, he was the wrecker-in-chief in the second innings, finishing with figures of 4/36 in 11 overs.

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar commended Sundar, saying that he can play at any position in the batting order and gives the captain great flexibility when he has the ball in his hands.

"I think you want somebody like a Washington Sundar in your team because he can bat at any order. You can give him the new ball, and he will bowl with the new ball," the former India captain responded when asked on Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues' whether the 26-year-old has made himself an important part of the Indian team.

"If you want him to bowl a tight line, he will do that for you. He is such a team player, and every captain would love to have Washington Sundar in his team," he added.

"We all knew that he could bat" - Sunil Gavaskar on Washington Sundar's knock in IND vs AFG 2026 Test

During the same interaction, the former India captain was asked to share his views on Sundar's knock in the first innings against the Blue Tigers.

"We have all known how good a batter he is. In fact, in 2021, when England were here, he got two 90s, although he didn't get a hundred. So we all knew that he could bat," he replied.

Gavaskar added that Sundar scored important runs in conditions that were not too much in favour of the batters.

"Last year, he did that rear-guard action with Ravindra Jadeja in saving the game for India, where he got his first hundred. So everybody knows about his batting, and again over here, on a pitch which was not really very easy to bat on, he got a very good half-century," Gavaskar observed.