Recently appointed as India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has set his sights on a Test comeback. The star batter, who made his Test debut during the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, is keen to represent India in all three formats of the game.
Suryakumar Yadav Targets Test Return
To enhance his preparations for the upcoming Test series against Australia in December, Suryakumar has confirmed his participation in the Buchi Babu Tournament. Playing under Sarfaraz Khan, he aims to gain valuable match practice in the longer format.
Suryakumar Yadav Joins Mumbai Squad for Buchi Babu Tournament
Suryakumar Yadav has confirmed his participation in the second half of the Buchi Babu tournament, representing the Mumbai team. Initially absent from the squad, the star batsman has expressed his willingness to play under Sarfaraz Khan's captaincy. He is expected to make his tournament debut against Jammu and Kashmir on August 27. Meanwhile, Suryakumar revealed his desire to return to Test cricket for India. He believes that participating in the Buchi Babu tournament will aid his preparations for the upcoming red-ball season.
"I want to play for India in all three formats. Playing in Buchi Babu will give me good practice for the red-ball tournaments this season," Suryakumar was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Suryakumar 's recent appointment as India's T20I captain was followed by a successful series win against Sri Lanka, where India clinched a 3-0 victory. However, Yadav was surprisingly excluded from the ODI squad, which India subsequently lost. The team struggled against Sri Lanka's spin attack, with Rohit Sharma being the lone exception. Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt criticized the team management for omitting Suryakumar from the ODI squad, highlighting his ability to handle spin bowling. Despite an impressive T20I record, Yadav's ODI statistics are less remarkable, with an average of 25.77 and only four fifty-plus scores in 37 matches. Former Indian cricketer Ajit Agarkar suggested that Yadav might focus solely on T20I cricket for the time being. Nevertheless, Yadav's strong performance against spin in the T20I series indicates that he could have been a valuable asset in the ODI team. He is currently taking a break but plans to participate in the Buchi Babu tournament as part of his preparations for a potential Test comeback.
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