He is a legend and truly inspiring - Washington Sundar on Virat Kohli

The teenage sensation Washington Sundar was impressive in the Nidahas Trophy and rightly earned the player of the tournament award. For an 18-year-old to get such a big assignment of leading India’s new ball attack and reaping such rewards is truly wonderful. Sundar will now be gearing up to play under Virat Kohli for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Talking about the Indian skipper across all formats, Washington termed him a “legend” and truly inspiring. Under the leadership of Kohli, many youngsters like Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya have blossomed and this is just the beginning of many more to come in the future.

“If people say I have set a standard, then I should be looking to go higher. I’m really excited to play under Kohli. He is a legend and has been truly inspiring. The challenge will be to overcome all the analysis that’s been done,” he said in an Interview with TOI.

Rohit and Shastri have been pillars of support

He is still in the early days of his career and after earning a maiden cap in the T20I series against Sri Lanka. The selectors decided to give youngsters a chance in that series and not many expected Washington to come back into the fray so soon and hog so much limelight with his wonderful rendition. He thanked Rohit Sharma and Ravi Shastri for their incredible support.

“I had the belief that I would get another opportunity (after the Lanka T20s at home). I was mentally prepared for everything. But I never expected to end up with the man of the series award. I started off well in the first two games and I just wanted to carry the momentum.

“If you bowl a good ball and the batsman hits you for a boundary, Rohit will pat you on the back and say well bowled. He doesn’t shy away from setting traps and getting wickets in the powerplay. He is an amazing captain. Shastri and Arun had great belief in me. They gave youngsters the confidence and infused the feeling of a match-winner,” he opined.

The youngster spoke at length about working with the likes of Yuzvendra Chahal and Daniel Vettori. Chahal and Sundar combined well in the Nidahas Trophy and collected 16 wickets amongst themselves. Washington also said that he’s looking forward to work with Vettori.

“It will be exciting to bowl alongside him. Ours is a good combination. He is a leggie and I turn the ball another way. It gives a variety to the attack. We are accurate and wicket-takers. If we can take at least 4 wickets for our team per match, it will great. I have always admired Vettori’s bowling. It will be different working with him – he is a modern-day coach who knows the current generation of cricketers. I’m looking forward to it,” he concluded.

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