New Delhi: Team India all-rounder Washington Sundar is set to be a wanted man at the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction as three teams are reportedly interested in securing his services ahead of the new season. Sundar recently made a rousing comeback for India in Tests with an exceptional performance in the recently concluded 2nd Test against New Zealand at the MCA Stadium in Pune.
Sundar was the only silver lining in an otherwise dismal display from India who suffered a crushing 113-run defeat in the Test match to lose their first Test series at home in 12 years. The off-spinning all-rounder picked up 11 wickets in the match but his efforts were not enough to help India avoid defeat in the Pune Test.
Nonetheless, Sundar’s performance in Pune did help him attract the attention of IPL teams ahead of the mega auction which is scheduled to take place next month. As per a report in the Times of India, Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT) are all interested in Sundar if the off-spin all-rounder is released by his current team Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
“Sundar is keen to go into the auction pool. At the moment, at least three teams – Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings – have shown a huge interest in him. While he will not be in the Sunrisers Hyderabad’s retention list, SRH could retain Sundar in the IPL auction by using the RTM (Right to Match) card,” a source was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Sundar had a disappointing IPL 2024 for SRH where he was reduced to the bench for the majority of the season thanks to the Impact Player rule. The all-rounder played only two matches for the franchise last season and managed to pick up a solitary wicket while conceding 73 runs in 5 overs. However, his dismal IPL 2024 campaign doesn’t seem to have damaged his reputation a lot.
Multiple teams are set to engage in a bidding war for the 25-year-old in the IPL 2025 mega auction if he comes into the auction pool. Sundar has so far played 52 T20Is for India with 47 wickets and 161 runs to his name. Despite not having been a regular for India in T20Is, Sundar is set to attract big bids at the auction due to the lack of quality Indian all-rounders in the auction pool.
Washington Sundar named in squad for Australia Test series
Sundar was named in India’s squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia which is set to get underway next month. Sundar has been selected in the squad as the third spinner along with R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Sundar was part of the Indian Test squad that won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2021-22 2-1 in Australia.
