Washington Sundar's stocks blow through the roof after Pune Test heroics as MI, CSK, GT set for IPL auction battle

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Come the end of November, Riyadh, reportedly set to host the mega auction for the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League, will witness an intense battle between former champions Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans to rope in India spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar, who was the only positive for the home team in the 113-run defeat to New Zealand in Pune last week.

Sundar's stocks rose after the spinner, who was only roped in by the selectors after India lost the opening Test match against New Zealand in Bengaluru, picked up 11 wickets for 115 runs in Pune, which included a seven-wicket haul in the opening innings en route a First-Class career-best 7 for 59.

According to a report in the Times of India, Sundar, who plied trade with Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024, is keen to go into the auction pool, where CSK, MI and Gujarat will be looking to offer him a new contract.

"Sundar is keen to go into the auction pool. At the moment, at least three teams - Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Titans, and Chennai Super Kings - have shown a huge interest in him. While he will not be in the Sunrisers Hyderabad's retention list, SRH could retain Sundar in the IPL auction by using the RTM (Right to Match) card," a reliable source told the national daily.

A look at Sundar's IPL career

With the introduction of the 'Impact Player' rule, Sundar seldom found chances to feature in the playing XI for Sunrisers. The 25-year-old played just two matches for the franchise, where he picked a solitary wicket in five overs, conceding 73 runs.

However, he could emerge as a hot property in the IPL auction given the selectors and the management's backing for the all-rounder across formats since this summer. In fact, in the wake of the performance in Pune, Sundar pipped Axar Patel to make the India squad for the Australia Test series as the third spinner behind Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.

Overall, he has featured in 60 IPL matches across three franchises - Rising Pune Supergiant (2017), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2018-2021) and Hyderabad (since 2022) - scoring 378 runs and picking 37 wickets.

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