From a fringe player when they still had R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to call on, Washington had grown to become a key member of the Indian team across formats. He hit the winning runs in the first ODI against England - a six that also brought up his half-century. The series is tied 1-1. KL Rahul missed the second ODI with illness and Ishan Kishan took his place. If India are comfortable without Washington's overs, they might just play both Rahul and Kishan in the XI at Lord's.
Otherwise, they will have to look at Kuldeep. Ashwin Kuldeep's struggle to get game time. " Come [the ODI World Cup in] South Africa, you will need Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Washy [Sundar]. Both of them [Axar and Washington] got fifties and saw us home [in the first ODI against England]. But I think there is place only for one of the two players in the future. I would love to see Kuldeep handed better treatment because he is a matchwinner. "
Kuldeep is among the top 10 wicket-takers for India in ODIs, with 194 from 121 games.
