“It was all God’s plan,” Washington said.

Washington. Pune. God’s plan. Sound familiar?

But even Shastri couldn’t have seen Thursday coming.

It is quite unusual for this Indian team to make additions to their squad in the middle of a home Test series unless there are concerns about player fitness or availability. While there were indications on Tuesday that Washington could play on a low-bounce, black-soil pitch in Pune – he had a long spell bowling alongside Ashwin in the nets – it still felt like a challenge that he would replace Kuldeep Yadav in India’s attack. . And no one could have expected him to do that and then surpass Ashwin.

Washington eventually exactly matched Ashwin’s career-best Test figures, with the senior offspinner clapped off his potential successor at the end of New Zealand’s innings.

Washington didn’t quite have the same effect on the Pune crowd, but he quietly worked his way back to Test cricket. There were signs of rust, especially when he bowled short and wide off stump to Young with the leg side packed with six fielders.

Then the ball came to Rachin Ravindra.

“So one thing we talked about was his run-up speed, you know, getting more energy into his run-up instead of just strolling, and more overspin,” Sriram, who followed Washington’s spell from Chennai, told ESPNcricinfo. “He also had a little finger problem recently, so he was recovering from that. So one of the things we talked about is always going back to that overspin, which gives him more bounce. And overspin is only possible if you have done.” that momentum in the run-up.

“If you don’t have momentum in the run-up, it’s very difficult to get that overspin. One of the things we discussed was obviously that bounce was his main weapon. And how he can use that to his advantage in both white ball and red ball cricket.”

In his next over, Washington got the ball to drift away from Tom Blundell before diving and tearing through the gate. Washington is usually a man of little emotion, but this wicket meant so much to him that he pulled out an animated fist pump. Washington was picked primarily to counter a left-handed lineup from New Zealand. This was proof that he could also take down the right-handers.

“I think once he gets the seam angle right and the release right, and with the revs, the drop and the drift will automatically take care of themselves,” Sriram said. “He used the shine to get the drift at the right seam angle. And when the seam is upright, it drops. Like Blundell’s, it fell on him a bit. He went to play with the spin, but the light drift and drop got the wicket.”

Washington then continued to hit the drier, long band on the pitch with laser-like precision and kept the stumps in play. He was rewarded with another five wickets in nine overs.

“I think he was settling in in the first two periods,” Sriram said. “He found the right pace and the right kind of rhythm too. But once he got those two wickets around tea, his confidence grew too. It just happened so quickly for him, which made it look casual. But it wasn’t. so casual.”

Sriram is hopeful that Washington will mature as an all-rounder under Gambhir, with whom he worked as an assistant coach at Lucknow Super Giants.

“Yes, I think this will also benefit Gauti,” Sriram said. “Because I think he always rates him highly. Whatever little conversations I had with Gauti in LSG, he always rated Washy very highly. And he is someone, I think, he will use him very well as an all-rounder. Both with bat and ball, he will promote him with the bat at certain times And he will also use him best with the ball and give him the ideal situations where he can succeed in all formats of the game.

Perhaps that is God’s long-term plan.