Washington Sundar Talks about idolising Gautam Gambhir during his early IPL days

Washington Sundar praised Gautam Gambhir 

Although after Gautam Gambhir became the head coach, the performance of Team India in Tests has not been very good, the way Team India performed in England has earned a lot of praise for Gambhir. In an interview with Wisden, Sundar praised Gambhir's batting during his IPL days and revealed what it felt like to bowl against such a successful player.

"He had the number 5 on the back of his jersey (like me). And obviously, he was a brilliant left-handed batsman. The only thing I didn't like was bowling to him in the IPL. He was very successful against me, but he is also a great person. He had so much faith in all of us that we would fight all the time and win the match. I was very happy to see him happy at the end of the series.”Sundar said. Washington Sundar also praised Gambhir's leadership and Shubman Gill's captaincy during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.

“Credit goes to them for keeping the dressing room so calm throughout the series. Their communication was precise and clear about what was expected. Both have a lot of faith in their players, and that helps in the bigger picture,” Sundar revealed.

Apart from him, Akash Deep also praised Gautam Gambhir. He said, "Gautam Bhai is a very passionate coach. He has more faith in me than I do in myself, both in my batting and bowling.” Akash Deep also played well during the series. He took 13 wickets in the three matches played in the series, out of which he gave the best performance during the second test match, where he played a big role in Team India's victory by taking 10 wickets in the match. Akash also came to bat in the second innings of the 5th test match of the series as a night watchman and played an outstanding innings of 66 runs in 94 balls, due to which Team India was successful in winning this match by 6 runs.

Sundar’s Performance in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025

Washington Sundar, who played nine of his 13 Tests for India under Gambhir's guidance. He played four of the five Tests against England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025, where he scored 284 runs and took a total of seven wickets with the ball as well. During the series, Sundar batted at an average of 47.33, where he scored an excellent century, due to which Team India was successful in drawing the match. During a 203-run partnership with Ravindra Jadeja in the fourth test, Sundar scored his maiden Test century in England, helping India secure a memorable draw. He played an innings of 101 runs in 206 balls, which included nine fours and a six. Apart from this, he also scored a half-century in this series. Washington Sundar also gave an excellent performance in bowling and took ‌7 wickets in the series, out of which his best bowling performance came in the second test match at Lord's when he took 4 wickets for 22 runs.