Washington Sundar called up to India squad for second and third Tests against New Zealand

Tamil Nadu all-rounder Washington Sundar has been called up to India's squad for the second and third Test against New Zealand. Sundar has been in brilliant form, scoring 152 while batting at number three and picking up two wickets against Delhi in the ongoing Ranji Trophy game.

Parallely, the first Test between India and New Zealand concluded on Sunday (October 20) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru with a historic eight-wicket defeat for the hosts. India's batting collapsed for just 46 in the first innings and the bowling couldn't save grace twice in helpful conditions.

Sundar's inclusion doesn't mean that he would be in the playing 11, although skipper Rohit Sharma didn't seem to trust Ravichandran Ashwin much in the second innings in Bengaluru. But, it could mean the selectors have him in the plans for the tour of Australia for the famed Border Gavaskar Trophy in November.

He wasn't named in the India 'A' squad for a two-match tour down under, which will precede the Test series, either. Now, with his Test inclusion, it seems like the selectors might consider him closer to the playing 11 than India 'A' members.

The second Test starts on Thursday, October 24, in Pune, while Mumbai will host the third Test, starting November 1.

"Batting at the top of the order is a lot of fun" - Washington Sundar

Sundar replaced an injured Ashwin in the last Border Gavaskar Trophy, which India won. He played one Test, the decider at the Gabba, scoring crucial knocks of 62 and 22 while batting at number seven and also picked up four wickets.

Now, though, he seems to be enjoying batting higher up the order, thanks to his technical astuteness.

"I have been feeling very confident about my skills and how I have been batting in the last few years especially," Sundar was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo after his Ranji Trophy ton. "I have just been trying to focus on what the team demands me to do, no matter what the situation is. But batting at the top of the order is a lot of fun.

"Test cricket is the ultimate format. Everybody values it a lot. For me, red-ball cricket means a lot. Hopefully, I can play a lot of games and keep performing really well," he added.

The India-Australia Test series will begin in Perth on November 22.