Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan reckons Washington Sundar would have been left confused regarding his batting position after the Test series against South Africa. India lost the second Test match by a monumental margin of 408 runs at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati on Wednesday.

While Sundar batted at one drop at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, he batted at number eight in the second Test. Sundar returned with impressive scores of 29 and 31 on a difficult pitch in Kolkata and scored 48 and 16 in the second Test.

“In T20 cricket, it is understandable that players come up and down the order. But if you do the same thing in Tests, you will not be set. I know Washington has a lot of ability but if you play him at three and eight, he himself will be confused and in Test cricket you need stability. If you do not provide that stability to players, performing at the top level for them will become difficult,” Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

On the other hand, Pathan also questioned the selection of too many all-rounders in the team. India played with Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Nitish Kumar Reddy in the second Test. Reddy bowled a total of 10 overs in the whole match and also could not deliver with the bat.

“If you play so many bowlers, some will bowl very little and we have seen that too. Nitish scored a hundred but in the nine innings after that, there has been no visible performance. If he is playing as a batting all-rounder, he has the ability, but that ability has to be converted into performances. There will be a big question mark on him going forward,” he said.

Reddy has scored 103 runs in the last 10 Test innings since scoring a hundred at the MCG against Australia.

India’s next assignment is the three-match ODI series against South Africa.