Love to win a game with the bat: Washington

Central to its success in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been Washington Sundar, a well-oiled workhorse. Off-spinner Washington, who has posed plenty of problems to rival batsmen in the powerplay phase, said that the mood in the Bangalore camp has been upbeat since the beginning of the ongoing season.

“It has been an amazing experience so far. It feels really good to win five of our opening seven matches in this year’s IPL,” Washington told reporters during a virtual press conference on the Zoom application on Wednesday.

“We have been together in the bio-bubble right from the start and that has helped us grow as a team. We spend a lot of time in the team room, doing activities. We had two to three weeks of preparation before the IPL began. Because of all these things put together, the atmosphere in the dressing room has been pretty good.” While the Chennai-based lad has made a name for himself as a bowler at the biggest stage, Washington is a more than capable batsman. But at RCB, he has only been performing a bit part role with the bat in the lower-middle order. However, the southpaw, hungry for runs, expressed confidence that he would come good when chances are presented.

“I did a lot of work on my batting, especially before joining the team. Whenever the opportunities come, I should be able to step up and perform. I would love to win a game for Bangalore with the bat,” added Washington, who has had only three hits thus far.

On sharing the change room with former Tamil Nadu teammate Malolan Rangarajan, who is the fielding coach of RCB, the 21-year-old said: “It has been good. Having worked with a number of players, he has got great knowledge about the game. He has definitely evolved as a scout and coach. One can expect a lot more from him.”