"We used to ask him, 'Hey, imitate Ganguly or Yuvraj'"- Indian all-rounder's sister opens up about his favorite players after ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar's sister, Shailaja Sundar, has said that the cricketer admires the likes of Brian Lara, Sourav Ganguly, and Yuvraj Singh. She said that as a kid, others around the southpaw would urge him to imitate Ganguly and Yuvraj, and he would immediately agree to the requests.

She also said that the siblings used to spend their summer vacations on the ground, discussing plans to remove a wicket or win a match. Sundar told NDTV:

"He loves watching players like Brian Lara, Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh-the left-handers and even Kumar Sangakkara. He used to imitate their style of batting. That used to be quite exciting to watch him do. We used to ask him, 'Hey, imitate Sourav Ganguly or Yuvraj Singh. ' So he used to immediately do that. All of that used to be fun."

"The times when we used to come back home and discuss cricket. During the summer holidays, we used to spend most of our time in the ground. So we used to play practice matches in our academy. We used to plan strategies to pick somebody's wicket or win that particular game".

Shailaja further said that it was fascinating to watch Washington play, even at the age of four or five. She added that the all-rounder was a child prodigy and believed that he could, one day, play for India.

"Washi was one of the youngest in the bunch. Everybody used to be very nice and kind to him. The way he played cricket at that age, around 4-5 years, it used to be a fascination. I used to believe back then that this kid would someday make it to the Indian cricket team. I am happy to see that today. He was a child prodigy in cricket," she said.

---

Washington Sundar's sister praises India coach Gautam Gambhir for supporting the all-rounder

Ever since he took over as the men's team head coach in July 2024, Gautam Gambhir has shown considerable backing for Washington Sundar in Test cricket. The all-rounder's sister, Shailaja Sundar, credited Gambhir for his encouragement and identifying the potential in him.

"I think it is fantastic. The way Gauti bhai is encouraging a youngster like Washi and finding the potential. No matter the situation, no matter the circumstance, I think the ability for Washi to be able to perform at his best, given the situation, at any point of pressure. I think Gauti bhai has identified that really well, and I think the kind of opportunities he's giving Washi in recent times has been fantastic, and Washi is also making the best use of it," she said.

Washington Sundar was picked in four out of the five Tests for India in the recently concluded Test series against England. He scored 284 runs at an average of 47.33. He took seven wickets with the ball, including a four-fer in the second innings at Lord's.