Washington Sundar

Like R Ashwin from Tamil Nadu before him, Washington Sundar went from being a batter as a youngster to making his name as an offspinner. After representing India at the 2016 Under-19 World Cup, he replaced Ashwin at Rising Pune Supergiant in the 2017 IPL, and bowled with an impressive economy rate to help his side to the final.

At the start of his career, Sundar only bowled occasionally, but started to take it seriously under the eye of former India offspiner M Venkataramana, and held his own in domestic one-day competitions and after making his T20 debut as a 17-year-old in the IPL.

Eight years after first replacing Ashwin and making a splash in the shortest format, Sundar was seen as Ashwin's heir-apparent in the Indian Test team as a frontline offspinner and allrounder, making an impact in the limited opportunities he got.

He made a splash on Test debut scoring a doughty 62 from No. 7 and picking up four wickets at the Gabba in India's series win in Australia in 2020-21. He impressed again in 2024 in India's 3-0 loss to New Zealand, topping the charts with 16 wickets, a lone bright spot in India's first Test series defeat at home in 12 years.

Sundar's career until late 2024 was largely stop-start owing to India's spin riches, with Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav all ahead of him in the pecking order. He has also been hobbled by multiple injuries and spent much of the time from 2022 to 2024 in rehab for it. However in England in 2025, Sundar was picked as India's second spinner, in which he also made critical contributions with the bat, claiming his first Test hundred in a gritty draw at Old Trafford.

- An injury to fellow Tamil Nadu offspinning allrounder R Ashwin saw Washington Sundar signed as a replacement for Rising Pune Supergiant in IPL 2017 as he made his T20 debut at the age of 17.

- He took eight wickets in 11 games in his debut season and registered a miserly economy of 6.16 to help his team reach the final.

- He was then signed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), where he spent the next four seasons, making 31 appearances.

- His best season was IPL 2020, when he took eight wickets in 15 games and conceded at less than six runs an over.

- He spent the next three years with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) where he made 18 appearances, before being purchased by Gujarat Titans (GT) for INR 3.2 crore in the IPL 2025 mega auction.