New Delhi: Young Tamil Nadu cricketer Washington Sundar made his India debut on Wednesday in the second ODI against Sri Lanka played at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali, Punjab. He was handed over the cap by team's chief coach, Ravi Shastri.
Aged just 18 years, the Tamil Nadu youngster is a bowling allrounder and has made a name for himself as an offspinner, following in the footsteps of his state and now India senior Ravichandran Ashwin.
He started his career as a batsman but soon transformed into a quality offspinner and went on to play the Under-19 World Cup for India last year. He has also played the Indian Premier League for Rising Pune Supergiants, which was also his debut in the T20 format.
With his India dream coming true on Wednesday, Sundar also became the seventh youngest cricketer at 18 years 69 days to represent the country. The list is headed by the legend Sachin Tendulkar, who burst onto the international scene back in 1989 aged just 16 years 238 days.
S Tendulkar - 16 years 238 days
Maninder Singh - 17 years 222 days
Harbhajan Singh - 17 years 288 days
Parthiv Patel - 17 years 301 days
Laxmi Ratan Shukla - 17 years 320 days
Chetan Sharma - 17 years 338 days
Washington Sundar - 18 years 69 days
According to ESPNcricinfo, Sundar got Washington as his first name because his father wanted to honour a man named Mr. Washington who had helped him build a cricket career. His father came close to representing Tamil Nadu but never made it to the final squad.
Sundar has so far played only 12 first-class matches and nine List A games. He made his first-class debut in the 2016 Ranji Trophy against Mumbai in Rohtak and was also picked in the Tamil Nadu squad for the ongoing season of the premier domestic tournament.