Suryakumar eager to don India whites
Coimbatore, August 26
India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav will turn up for Mumbai in their Buchi Babu contest against TNCA XI, beginning here tomorrow, with an aim to get his Test career back on track.
Shreyas Iyer, also part of Mumbai’s squad, too will be looking to make a statement in the pre-season event, having last played a Test in February. The star-studded Mumbai side will be captained by Sarfaraz Khan, who too will be jostling to find space in a full strength Test squad when the home season begins next month despite a promising beginning against England earlier this year.
The likes of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, who were not available for different reasons over course of the five games against England, are expected to be available for the two-Test series against Bangladesh beginning September 19 in Chennai.
The centre of attention in the Round 3 of the Buchi Babu match undoubtedly will be Suryakumar, who recently led India to victory as the T20I skipper. Not in the team’s ODI plans for the moment, the 33-year-old remains determined to play in all three formats. His sole Test appearance came against Australia in February 2023. Since then, he has continued to flourish in white-ball cricket.
Effectively, the Buchi Babu outing will be a mere warm-up for Suryakumar and others in the mix, given they all will be part of the Duleep Trophy beginning September 5.
Suryakumar’s last competitive outing in First-Class cricket came during the Duleep Trophy last year. Playing for West Zone, Suryakumar managed only 71 runs in four innings at an average of just 17.75, with a top score of 52.
