Washington Sundar reveals the reason behind his jersey number (555)

What’s the story?

One of the success stories of the 2017 IPL was Tamil Nadu’s 17-year-old all-rounder Washington Sundar. He was called in as a replacement for R Ashwin, who was forced to sit out of the tournament due to sports hernia.

Ever since Washington was roped in, a lot of buzz was going around his name and his jersey number rather than his potential as a cricketer. The reason behind his name was revealed just before the end of the tournament, but the reason behind his kit number (555) was not known.

Extra cover: The story behind Washington Sundar’s name

In an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Washington revealed the reason behind having 555 on his back. He was born on 5^th October and incidentally, the time of his birth was 5:05 in the morning. This made him choose 555 as the number of his jersey.

“I was born on 5^th of October at 5:05 AM. So, I decided to go with 555 as my kit number,” said Washington in an exclusive chat.

In case you didn’t know...

Washington had a memorable IPL which saw him trouble the best batsmen in the world. He continued the good work from the Vijay Hazare Trophy and the Deodhar Trophy in which he was one of the architects behind Tamil Nadu’s triumphs.

Also read: IPL 2017: 10 things to know about RPS' latest sensation Washington Sundar

Details

He took eight wickets in 10 innings at an average of 23 and an economy of just over 6. In the first qualifier against Mumbai Indians, the teenager from TN bowled his 4 overs, conceding just 16 runs and picked up key wickets of Rohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard.

His performance won the match for his side and earned him the Man of the Match award. In the final against the same opposition, he conceded just 13 runs in his four overs. Still, it wasn't enough for his team to go across the line as they fell short by one run.

Extra cover: Ravichandran Ashwin feels Washington Sundar has all the components of an accurate off spinner

Author’s Take

Right from the under-19 WorldCup in 2016 to the 2017 IPL, Washington has shown why he is one for the future. His bowling has got the limelight buy not many know that he is equally good with the bat and is a top-order batsman for his domestic team. If he continues the same consistency, it won’t be a surprise if he dons the Indian jersey in the near future.