Akash Deep cricket: Why has Washington Sundar been ruled out of IPL 2021 Phase 2?

Akash Deep: The uncapped fast bowler from Bengal will be hoping to make his Indian Premier League debut this season.

Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Washington Sundar will miss the second phase of the 14th season of the Indian Premier League due to a finger injury which ruled him out of the ongoing five-match Test series between England and India.

Sundar’s omission means that Royal Challengers will have as many as five new players in their squad as four overseas players had previously made themselves unavailable for the remainder of IPL 2021.

In what wasn’t the best of IPL seasons for Sundar, he had only picked three wickets in six matches at an average and strike rate of 39.33 and 32 respectively earlier this year. In four innings with the bat in hand, all Sundar could manage was 31 runs at a strike rate of 61.95.

All in all, Sundar has picked 19 wickets in 31 matches at an average and strike rate of 35.89 and 30 respectively for Bangalore. While Sundar’s numbers might not be seeming impressive from the outside, him having it in him to play multiple roles is likely to be missed at Royal Challengers.

RCB name Akash Deep as Washington Sundar’s replacement

Readers must note that Bangalore have named uncapped Bengal fast bowler Akash Deep as Sundar’s replacement for the rest of IPL 2021. It is worth mentioning that Deep was already with the squad as a net bowler and this is his maiden IPL call-up.

ALSO WATCH: Akash Deep rattles Chirag Jani’s stumps in Ranji Trophy 2019-20 final

Only three seasons old in the domestic circuit, Deep has picked 21 wickets in 15 T20s at an average of 16.85, an economy rate of 6.67 and a strike rate of 15.10.

At RCB, Deep will play alongside his Bengal teammate Shahbaz Ahmed and will compete with the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini and Harshal Patel for a spot in the Playing XI.

“The move reiterates the focus RCB has on grooming and nurturing young players as the team continues to develop exceptional talents and create a pathway for young talents to find their way into IPL and Indian Cricket,” RCB’s management said in a statement.

RCB Team 2021 List

Virat Kohli (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Pavan Deshpande, Akash Deep, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Wanidu Hasaranga, AB de Villiers (wk), Dushmantha Chameera, George Garton, Harshal Patel, Kyle Jamieson, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Suyash Prabhudesai, KS Bharat (wk), Tim David.