After sustaining split webbing in his bowling hand, Washington Sundar is expected to miss at least the next two games for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), as confirmed by coach Tom Moody.
So far this season, Washington has been the Sunrisers’ only specialist spinner. After a dismal start against Rajasthan Royals, in which he was knocked for 47 in three wicketless overs, he has since rebounded to take 4 for 63 in 11 overs.
While in his most recent match against Gujarat Titans on Monday night, Sundar couldn’t bowl his full quota of overs. The 22-year-old was bowling exceptionally well but he could only bowl 3 overs in which he gave away only 14 runs.
After the match Moody said
“Washington has torn the webbing in his right hand, between his thumb and first finger,”
“We must monitor that over the next two-three days. Hopefully, it isn’t a significant blow. I’d imagine it’d take probably a week or so to settle down.”
Over the last few months, Washington has been plagued by injuries and illnesses. After injuring his hamstring while fielding in the third ODI in Ahmedabad, he missed India’s three T20Is against the West Indies in February. He was forced to miss the second part of the IPL in the UAE in 2021 after injuring his finger.
Meanwhile, SRH won the match on Monday night as they made GT taste their 1st defeat in the tournament. Moreover, during the match Rahul Tripathi also got retired hurt but he looks good to go as per Moody.
Thus, now SRH have back to back 2 victories on their back and have started to gain some momentum. However, they will now miss the services of Washington for their next 2 fixtures against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) & Punjab Kings (PBKS) respectively.
Who can replace Washington Sundar for the upcoming SRH fixtures?
The legspinner Shreyas Gopal and the left-arm spinning allrounder J Suchith are two possible choices for the Sunrisers. They also have Abdul Samad, a retained player who can bowl part-time leg spin. However, relying solely on him could create a huge gap in the spin department.
The SRH coach Moddy also said
“We also consider Aiden Markram as a good sixth bowler, and he bowls spin well,”
“Most teams we’ve played have quite a few left-handers in their top order, so it has suited us to have eight overs of offspin if we require.”
Unlike some of the other spin-heavy teams, the Sunrisers have used a slightly different combination thus far this season. They’ve brought in four pacers, as well as Washington as a specialist spinner, with Aiden Markram, the South African allrounder, as a backup spinner.
It will be interesting to what combination does SRH uses in their next match against KKR on Friday.
