Washington Sundar: Embracing his role as a top-order batter

Washington Sundar, who debuted his first-class career for Tamil Nadu as an opener, has typically batted in the lower middle order since his first Ranji Trophy season in 2016-17. However, in a recent match against Delhi, he scored 152 runs from the No. 3 position and reaffirmed his belief that he is a top-order batter.

"It was a decision by the management, and I am grateful for the opportunity," Washington said of batting in the top order. "I knew it was going to be a good opportunity for me to bat at No. 3 and I am glad I was able to contribute.

"I definitely consider myself a top-order batter. I'm very happy with the kind of opportunity I got, to bat at No. 3. For me, one thing is very important - I need to be able to do whatever the team demands. It is a team game. That is what I always think about. Hopefully, I can deliver such knocks consistently."

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By the time Washington came out to bat, N Jagadeesan and Sai Sudharsan had already put on 168. Washington and Sudharsan then added 232 for the second wicket.

Washington was on 96 at stumps on the first day. When play resumed on Saturday, he did not take much time to complete his century. In the third over of the day, he steered Navdeep Saini between slip and gully for a four to bring up his second first-class hundred.

After Sudharsan fell for 213, Washington and Pradosh Ranjan Paul added 92 for the fourth wicket. Tamil Nadu finally declared their innings on 674 for 6. In reply, Delhi were 43 for no loss at stumps.

"Definitely yes," Washington said when asked if he would like to continue batting in the top order. "I have been feeling very confident about my skills and how I have been batting in the last few years especially. I have just been trying to focus on what the team demands me to do, no matter what the situation is. But batting at the top of the order is a lot of fun."

Before this, Washington was with the Indian team for the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh.

"It is exciting, isn't it? You get to play all formats and get a number of opportunities," he said.

"It is a lot more exciting that way. Obviously, you have to do whatever you need to do to be able to switch formats, especially in white ball, but as elite cricketers, we are very grateful to be having these kinds of challenges. It is all about getting past these challenges. When we come out successful from these challenges, it is very exciting.

"Obviously, Test cricket is the ultimate format. Everybody values it a lot. For me, red-ball cricket means a lot. Hopefully, I can play a lot of games and keep performing really well."