"Humbled by your kind gift" - Washington Sundar thanks Anand Mahindra for SUV gesture

Indian cricketer Washington Sundar has thanked reputed businessman Anand Mahindra for his generous gesture of gifting the all-rounder with a Thar SUV following India’s fascinating triumph Down Under.

Washington Sundar was one of the six Indian cricketers to be gifted the Thar SUV by Mahindra, with the other five being Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan, Shubman Gill, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini.

Taking to his Twitter account, Washington Sundar appreciated Mahindra’s gesture, and added that the team will continue to do their best for the country. His tweet read:

“Humbled by your kind gift Sir. Thank you for all the support & encouragement that you give us youngsters. We will continue to do our best.”

Washington Sundar made his debut in the Gabba Test, and made a significant contribution in India’s historic win. He picked up four wickets with the ball, including three in the first innings. With the bat, he registered noteworthy scores of 62 and 22.

Humbled by your kind gift Sir @anandmahindra. Thank you for all the support & encouragement that you give us youngsters. We will continue to do our best. 😊

— Washington Sundar (@Sundarwashi5) January 29, 2021

Before Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur had also thanked Mahindra over his decision to present the Indian cricketers with the SUV. Thakur’s tweet read:

"Humbled by the generous gift from Shri @anandmahindra. Being recognised by you means so much to me! I am sure this will be further motivation for all young people to - as you say "explore the impossible". Grateful thanks sir."

Following India’s memorable Test series triumph in Australia, Mahindra took to Twitter and announced that he is gifting the SUVs to the cricketers for “they serve as an inspiration in all arenas of life". He tweeted:

Theirs are true ‘Rise’ stories; overcoming daunting odds in the pursuit of excellence. They serve as an inspiration in all arenas of life. It gives me great personal pleasure to gift each of these debutants an All New THAR SUV on my own account—at no expense to the company. (2/3) pic.twitter.com/5aiHSbOAl1

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) January 23, 2021

Washington Sundar didn’t have a pair of white pads

Interestingly, Washington Sundar, who had stayed back in Australia as a net bowler following the limited-overs matches, struggled to find white pads for the Gabba Test. As he was part of the T20Is, he was batting in the nets with blue pads.

In an interaction with Telangana Today, Indian fielding coach R Sridhar stated:

“We tried many but they were too small for the tall Sundar. We tried getting from the Aussies but due to Covid, they could not spare their pads. Finally, we had to go to a shop after the Test match had started.”

Washington Sundar has been rewarded for his memorable Test debut with a place in the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England at home.