Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar smartly played a key part in India's courageous six-wicket win over England in the first ODI on Tuesday in Birmingham. Coming in at a crucial period, Sundar was amazingly watchful, firing a brilliant knock of 52 unbeaten to power the side to victory. Earlier in the chase, captain Shubman Gill produced a scintillating knock of 80 to guide the side through a challenging phase. However, he had to retire early due to a hamstring issue. But Sundar, coming in to bat at number five, handled the things nicely, adjusting himself according to the situation. Speaking about his role and knock, Washington said he loves playing different roles across formats. 

"The fact that I play different roles is exciting. Not many people get to play different roles. I get to play those different roles and be in different situations, and obviously I try my best to help the team win. As I said, it is exciting to be in different situations and different phases of the game," Sundar said at the press conference.

"Over the years I have understood the fact that I need to keep improving my skillsets which will help me whenever the situation arrives."

Washington, who shared a 102-run partnership with Axar Patel (57), lauded the role of head coach Gautam Gambhir in making him understand his role with the bat. 

“Gauti bhai (Gautam Gambhir) always made me understand what exactly I could do with the bat, especially, and made me understand my game as well. Even Ashish Nehra at GT has always made sure… he has helped me understand myself a lot more, be it as a person or as a cricketer on the whole," Washington said.

“As an all-rounder, I think it is really important to keep looking to improve every single day, understand my game and, obviously, play according to the situation. Playing a lot of games also helps. You get to be in those situations, understand what exactly you can do, and you have a lot of learning as well."

"I am so grateful that I have got such people who have always had faith in my skill sets and also made me understand what exactly I could do with my different skill sets,” he added.