RCB bank on Sundar for bowling in powerplays

Washington Sundar's presence in the Royal Challengers Bangalore fold will give skipper Virat Kohli more options during Powerplay and middle overs, feels star leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

Washington Sundar’s stunning performance in the recently concluded Nidahas Trophy gave India two things – a trustworthy option in the powerplays and a belief that finger spin is not dead in the shortest format. For his new IPL franchise – Royal Challengers Bangalore, it meant a lot more.

That RCB fought a long battle with Kings XI Punjab to bag Sundar for 3.20 crores more than a month before his breakthrough performance in the tri-series, speaks volumes about the trust they have in the 18-year-old young all-rounder.

His strength lies in the simplicity. "Obviously, offspinners with mystery balls have an advantage," he said. "But when you don't have those mystery balls, you have to stick to your strengths and believe that you can perform in crunch situations with whatever you already have. I haven't had to look at options (such as mystery balls) because I think it's too early in my career to be looking at these things."

Sundar is no stranger to IPL though. The most economical bowler of last season (for Rising Pune Supergiant) will have the additional responsibility steering the RCB bowling attack along with the experienced Yuzvendra Chahal.

"In Sri Lanka, Washington bowled in the Powerplay overs and I was bowling in the middle overs. In previous IPL seasons, I used to bowl in the Powerplays and was left only with two overs (during later stages). Now we have options. One can bowl in power play and can chip more in middle overs," Chahal said at media conference.

Historically speaking, RCB has always been thin on the bowling department, leaking runs and undoing all the work by their fearsome batting line-up.

While Chahal’s four-overs were crucial for captain Virat Kohli, this year he will have the luxury of using Sundar, who has more or less developed a reputation of bowling in the powerplays. In the five matches in Nidahas Trophy, Sundar picked up 8 wickets at a staggering economy rate of 5.7 bowling most of his overs in the first six.

Wrist spinners are doing well but are always under the pump with a chance of going for a lot of runs at times. But the wiry leg-break bowler believes that a comeback is possible if one has a big heart.