India off-spinner Washington Sundar said that he was quite disappointed when he had to miss out on last year’s T20 World Cup due to injury concerns but added that he understood the importance of staying in the present and controlling the controllable.
Speaking after picking a match-winning 3-wicket haul on his return to the Indian side in the 1st ODI against the West Indies in Ahmedabad on Sunday, said his focus now will be on doing well for India over the next 18 months wherein they will play a T20 World Cup and a 50-over World Cup.
Sundar, who made his international debut in 2017, had been an integral member of the T20I aside. The young off-spinner also made his Test debut last year and shone in the longest format of the game, getting opportunities to play at home against England.
He was a certainty for the T20 World Cup last year but a finger injury he suffered during his trip to England saw him get ruled out of the second half of Indian Premier League 2021 and the T20 World Cup last year.
“It was very very disappointing to have lost out on a chance to play the World Cup. But yes, there are two World Cups in the next 15-16 months, so that should be my focus,” Sundar told the press after his 3-wicket haul on Sunday.
“More than anything, I have always wanted to be in the present and keep getting better as a cricketer.
“If I do that, there would be a lot of opportunities and also the fact that I would be able to perform a lot better. I have loved to stay in the present and enjoy the game,” he added.
“There were a lot of challenges but I just wanted to do what I could do to improve myself as a cricketer. That’s all that’s in my control and I was only focussing on that.
