India and South Africa will play third and final ODI in Visakhapatnam on December 9.
Sundar has been far from his best in the ongoing three-match series, failing to impress with both bat and ball. In the series opener, he batted ahead of KL Rahul at No. 5, but in the next game, he batted at No. 6.
Sundar scored 13 and 1 in the first two ODIs, although he did not capture a single wicket. Sundar bowled only seven overs in the two games, raising questions about his utility.
Even in the most recent Test series against the Proteas, Sundar batted at No. 3 in the series opener in Kolkata. In the subsequent game, Sai Sudharsan replaced him at the crucial position.
“Once you have decided to play Washington Sundar, you have to treat him as a bowler who can bat. You have to bowl out his overs. Only if he keeps bowling will he have the mindset of a bowler who can bat. Otherwise, if he just bats and bowls a few overs, he'll keep searching for who he is. So don't leave him in the searching space. Instead, the team should arrive at giving him the proper role clarity,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin also highlights how India only managed 358 runs in the second ODI despite being 284/4 after the 40-over mark. To rectify this, Ashwin suggested India bring on someone like Nitish Kumar Reddy, who hits big shots, in place of Washington Sundar.
“India also didn't finish well with the bat in both ODIs. Especially when you don't have a finisher like Hardik Pandya, why didn't a similarly powerful Nitish Kumar Reddy play? I am not sure if they are looking at Rishabh Pant as a finisher or not. India is not able to provide that finishing punch. So should an extra fast-bowling all-rounder play instead of a spinning all-rounder?" he added.
Ashwin also stated that with India playing a bowling attack so inexperienced, the batters would need to score 30-40 more runs to be comfortable.
"We've lost quite a few bowlers in Tests and white-ball cricket. India has lost many experienced bowlers. And in all this, the X-factor is Jasprit Bumrah. If tomorrow he is not a full-time member of the squad, India will have to score 30 to 40 extra runs in every match," said Ashwin.