"What was he waiting for?" - Saba Karim questions Shubman Gill's utilization of Washington Sundar in ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Former India player Saba Karim has questioned Shubman Gill for his failure to utilize Washington Sundar effectively with the ball in the fourth Test against England. He expressed surprise over the Indian captain's decision to hold back the spin-bowling all-rounder.

England ended Day 3 (Friday, July 25) in Manchester at 544/7 in their first innings, with a lead of 186 runs. Washington Sundar, who wasn't given the ball till the 69th over, registered figures of 2/57 in 19 overs.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, Saba wondered why Gill introduced Washington late into the attack.

"So many spinners have operated in this Test series and earlier as well, but Washington Sundar has got the most drift because his action is like that. He gives more revs on the ball and benefits because of that. It's surprising as to why Shubman Gill introduced him so late. What was he waiting for?" he said.

The former India wicketkeeper-batter added that the presence of two right-handers in the middle shouldn't have stopped Gill from bringing the off-spinner into the attack.

"If you have a quality spinner, it doesn't matter whether there is a left-handed or right-handed batter in front of him. I feel you have included him in the team as the fifth bowler, so why did you choose him as the last option to bowl, and that too a bowler who picked up four wickets in the last Test match? He dismissed right-handers also there. So it was extremely surprising," Saba observed.

Saba Karim opined that Shubman Gill should have been more proactive as a captain. He added that India's inability to seize the critical moments has cost them in the series thus far.

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"He was coming after performing well in the last match" - RP Singh on Washington Sundar being underutilized in ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Washington Sundar (left) picked up four wickets in England's second innings of the Lord's Test. [P/C: Getty]

In the same discussion, former India pacer RP Singh was asked whether Washington Sundar was introduced just to bowl a few overs before the second new ball was taken.

"Yes, it seemed like they wanted Sundar to bowl restrictively for six or seven overs. It's not like he is not a skillful bowler. It's also true that when you go into a match with six bowlers, one bowler is underbowled. However, he shouldn't have been the one as he was coming after performing well in the last match," he responded.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Washington will likely perform better with the ball if he is considered a bowling all-rounder.

"He had dismissed three right-handers and a left-hander in Ben Stokes. The game plan could have been better. He has drift, and along with that, he is tall and uses pace well. So he ticks all the boxes. He could have been used better. You shouldn't consider him a batting all-rounder, but a bowling all-rounder, and he might perform better as a bowler if you think like that," Singh elaborated.

Washington Sundar gave India their first breakthrough on Day 3 of the Manchester Test by having Ollie Pope (71 off 128) caught by KL Rahul at slip. He had Harry Brook (3 off 12) stumped by Dhruv Jurel four overs later for his second wicket.

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Edited by Kartik Iyer