Washington Sundar is living a dream at the moment. Having impressed Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Steve Smith while playing for Rising Pune Supergiant during last edition, the spin bowling all-rounder is gearing up to share the dressing room with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers after being picked by RCB for Rs3.3 crore at the IPL auctions.

“I am delighted to have been picked up by RCB. I am a big fan of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. It will be a priceless experience to play with them after having played alongside MS Dhoni for (Rising) Pune Supergiant last year,” said Washington.

Urge to learn

He also said playing being part of the Bengaluru franchise would be a blessing as he could learn new things by watching the stalwarts at close quarters.

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“Having played with MSD in last year’s IPL and imbibed a lot of good things and now I feel it will be a blessing to be in Kohli’s team. I can learn a lot by watching them from close quarters,” said Washington.

His aim is to improve as much as possible now that he has been dropped from the Indian limited overs team after just one series. “My aim is to keep improving and perform to the best of my ability in every opportunity I get,” he added.

The youngster, who was picked up by RPS last year as replacement for his illustrious state-mate Ravichandran Ashwin, impressed in IPL-10 and has since graduated to the national team in the ODI and T20 format.

Bright future ahead

The lanky all-rounder’s father M Sundar was happy with the turn of events and said more than the money, it was important that his son will get an opportunity to play in a good team.

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“I can’t express my happiness in words. It is a great opportunity for him. He will be part of a good team with a lot of big names to boot. He can learn a lot,” he added.

“Last year, he was bought for his base price (by RPS). But he got recognised for his performances and earned a national call-up,” said senior Sundar.

He said the IPL is a good platform for young players and brought to fore their talent helping cricketers like Washington Sundar. “I believe IPL is the No.1 tournament in the world. It is a huge platform for youngsters and has helped my son. To be able to play alongside some of the biggest names in the game at a young age is a big boost to any cricketer,” he said.