IPL 2022 Auctions | Washington Sundar will be sold at a huge price at mega auctions, reckons Aakash Chopra

Washington Sundar has been a much sought after player in domestic cricket, and has made a mark for India across formats in the limited chances he’s got. Sundar had a dream run in his maiden IPL season for the Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017, in which he took eight wickets while maintaining an excellent economy of 6.17 as the team finished runners-up.

He was then roped in by the Royal Challengers Bangalore, for whom he was a constant presence and his consistency in other domestic tournaments earned him a spot in India’s T20I setup. Sundar missed the second leg of IPL 2021 with injury, and has been released by the RCB ahead of the mega auctions.

Aakash Chopra feels that the all-rounder could be bought at a huge amount in the auctions, while also wondering about his prospects to feature in the ODI series against South Africa next month.

"He used to be with RCB but the team has not retained him,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel. “He has taken 12 wickets at an economy of 4.40. Team has done well, he has done extremely well. Washington Sundar will be sold at a huge price, that's what I believe because he is already a four-over bank in T20 cricket."

"When India's ODI team is selected, will Ravichandran Ashwin come there as well? That's another big question because he has made a good comeback in white-ball cricket. So could he be a part of that team or will you start looking towards Washington Sundar?"

Chopra also expressed his surprise that Sundar’s name wasn’t being discussed over India’s Test team selection for the upcoming three-match series in South Africa. He added that the Tamil Nadu cricketer could be a useful asset in South Africa, citing his Test debut heroics in India’s famous win at The Gabba earlier this year, and later during the home series against England. Sundar had made 62 and 22 crucial runs while bagging four wickets in the match, including the big ones of Steve Smith and David Warner.

“He has not come up for discussion, no one has spoken about him. Selectors have also picked Jayant, Rahul Chahar is injured but no one has talked about Washington Sundar," said the former India Test opener.

"India won at the Gabba ground because Rishabh Pant had played, but also because Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar had scored a lot of runs in the first innings and Washington Sundar had taken wickets as well.

"After that, he played the Test matches against England in India and there also he scored runs and then you are going to South Africa, conditions where you might need a restrictive bowler and a little more depth in batting, could he not have been in the team if both Axar and Jadeja are injured. His name did not come at all and I am surprised."

Sundar has returned to competitive cricket in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2021-22, andis currently the leading wicket-taker for Tamil Nadu with 12 wickets at 13.83 from five matches so far.