Washington Sundar made his India debut in white-ball cricket seven years ago, but till date has featured in mere 19 ODIs and 46 T20Is, and largely been a part of squads and tours in which the more established names are either rested or part of a bigger assignment. He has also featured in four Tests (all in 2021), despite an impressive debut against Australia in Brisbane during the famous 2021 Down Under tour.

Currently a part of the Shubman Gill-led side for the brief T20I series against Zimbabwe, the 24-year-old came up with a Player of the Match performance in the third T20I in Harare on Wednesday but insisted that it will take continuous improvement and refinement in his all-around game to cement his spot in future India squads.

Sundar claimed 3 for 15 with his off-breaks, taking the wickets of dangerman Sikandar Raza (15) and Johnathan Campbell (1) in the same over, before returning later in the innings to remove Clive Madande (37) to eventually turn the tide in India’s favour after.

Khaleel Ahmed (1 for 15 from four overs) joined Sundar in the latter stages to stifle the Zimbabweans, and the spinner credited his teammates for keeping their composure in the team’s defence of 182.

“They (Zimbabwe) did put us under pressure. We had to bowl to our best and make sure we restricted them and if possible pick up some wickets as well, break that particular partnership (of Madande and Dion Myers) as well. I think all of us really executed the plans that we spoke about very well,” he said.

With almost a whole T20 World Cup-winning squad sitting the tour out, and the retirement of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja from the format, a number of players on India’s fringes have made the African voyage, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

The tour proves to be important in the moulding of India’s team for future T20 World Cup campaigns, most notably their title defence on home soil (sharing hosting rights with Sri Lanka), with at least three spots from the successful 2024 squad up for grabs.

Sundar, who played a key role in India’s famous Test win over Australia in Brisbane to claim the Border-Gavaskar series, is yet to make an appearance in a global event in white ball cricket, but reiterates his passions and efforts to continue in a bid to feature at a World Cup.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to play for India. That’s a great blessing for me. I need to be there every single day giving my 100 per cent. And that’s something I have not compromised on. I’ve always been giving 100 per cent every season, every single practice session, and obviously in games as well,” he felt.

“It keeps me just in the present and obviously it’s very important to be in the present and just just put up those good performances regularly,” Sundar added.

India, meanwhile look to claim a series win in the fourth T20I on Sunday, and Sundar believes the experience and lessons from earlier in the series bode well for his side in pursuit of victory.

“Coming here to Zimbabwe and playing cricket, I think we are trying to get a lot more information about the wickets over here, (and) the conditions. We didn’t really have so much information (for the first game), as much as we have now,” he said.

“Obviously there are a lot of learnings and today (in the third T20I) we played on a different wicket, so it played a lot better I would say for batting. It’s a great opportunity for us to keep competing with any team that we play,” he further said.