"He is underutilized, undervalued"- Robin Uthappa reacts to reports of Indian all-rounder's trade deal ahead of IPL 2026 auction

Robin Uthappa recently commented on the reports of Washington Sundar's trade deal ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) mini-auction. According to Samayam Tamil, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have approached the Gujarat Titans (GT) for trading in Sundar with an all-cash deal.

Reacting to the reports, Uthappa noted that Sundar has been underused in the IPL. He hoped that the spin-bowling all-rounder would get the right role if he joined the Chennai-based side.

The former India batter opined that the five-time champions could use Sundar as a finisher in their batting order. Uthappa said during a live session on his YouTube channel:

"I like Washi there. I think Washi is a very underrated player. He is underused, undervalued, and one can only hope that he gets the right roles there.

"I think there is a tremendous amount of value for him to add. I think he could go in as a finisher. Could be someone who bats in the middle order. The funny thing about Washi is that he actually bats up the order as well," he added.

Notably, Sundar was signed by GT at ₹3.20 crore during the IPL 2025 mega-auction. He scored 135 runs across five innings at a strike rate of 166.25. With the ball, he bagged two wickets across five outings with an economy rate of 10.24.

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"A very horses-for-courses kind of franchise" - Robin Uthappa on GT potentially trading Washington Sundar for an all-cash deal ahead of IPL 2026

Robin Uthappa emphasized that the GT think tank has always been very clear with its thinking. He suggested that the franchise will have someone on their radar for the upcoming mini-auction.

He remarked they might prefer an all-cash deal because of that. The 39-year-old added in the same video:

"They probably are very clear about who they want to go after at the auction. They probably want extra cushion of cash for that. I am certain that if they felt there was someone who could really add value in CSK to their side, then they would have (traded him) because they are very clear about who they pick. They are a very horses-for-courses kind of franchise, and they have very set kind of templates for them as a team."

Sundar has played 66 matches in the IPL and has 511 runs (45 innings) and 39 wickets (63 innings) to his name. Apart from GT, he has plied his trade for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) and the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS).