‘Improved’ Washington doesn't want to fall into the trap of competition

The 19-year-old, who hasn’t played international cricket since November last year, will get a chance to don the national colours once more after he was named in India’s T20I squad for their upcoming tour of West Indies.

Speaking ahead of the team’s departure for the United States of America, which will host the first two games of the three-match series, Washington reflected on the importance of making the most of his chances and was confident that his efforts would pay off in the long run.

"There has been a lot to learn in the last couple of years. And the more I play, the more I am going to learn,” he told the Times of India. “My execution of skills and game awareness to handle different situations has improved.

"It is an amazing opportunity to be playing for India at such a young age. But the moment I think about the competition and start expecting too much, it makes things harder. I just have to focus on the present and work on my skills in practice every day. I put in a lot of hard work and effort in every session. I strongly believe that my hard work is going to pay off going ahead.”

Washington has already spent a good chunk of this month in the Caribbean, as part of the India A squad. Though he had a moderate impact in terms of wickets, with four scalps in three games, Washington sent down economical spells in two of those matches and made a fighting 45 off 52 balls to mount a late fightback in a chase of 299 in the fourth match, before India eventually lost by five runs.

"The India 'A' tour went really well for me, both in terms of building up confidence and getting some game time, especially after the break I had last year due to injury,” he said. “I got to play against some quality opposition. The conditions and the players I encountered were very different to what I am used to.”