Elated Washington Sundar speaks about his maiden India call-up

Yesterday, when the Indian team for the 2018 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand was announced, a lot of eyebrows were raised at the exclusion of 18-year-old Washington Sundar, who has been sensational in domestic games of late.

The reason behind his exclusion was given as coach Rahul Dravid making sure that each player was entitled to take part in a maximum of one Under-19 World Cup. Hence, the likes of Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan, Anmolpreet Singh etc. were not considered for selection.

Just over 24 hours after the squad was announced, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder was picked in the Indian side to play in the three-match T20I series to face Sri Lanka that starts later this month.

Sportskeeda caught up with Washington after the team was announced and this is how the conversation went.

When asked how he felt regarding his selection in the squad, the bemused 18-year-old all-rounder said, "Is it? Even I didn't know that!" before becoming ecstatic.

"It is definitely good news and I am really happy. A lot of us started playing cricket because we wanted to play for India one day and for me to get this chance at this age, I am really happy about that," Washington said.

"I don't have a lot of expectations. Whenever I put in a lot of hard work and I prepare myself for matches, I say to myself that all this won't be wasted and it will come off for me one day. This is the belief I always have at the back of my head. I am happy that it has paid off right now," he added.

When asked about the goals he will set for himself when he dons the Indian colours, he said, "As of now, I don't have any goals for myself. I just want to go out and give my best."

Earlier today, there were reports of him getting picked in the Indian squad for the T20I series. So, his maiden call-up to the national team was always on the cards, thanks to his performances of lat.

In the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, Washington took 12 wickets at an average of 35.66 and a strike-rate of 76, numbers that are not bad for a spinner whose primary job is not to bowl regularly. With the bat, Washington scored a swashbuckling 159 against Tripura in the second match of the season and has scored he scored 315 runs in eight innings at an average of 40.