Suryakumar Yadav Declared Fit To Play In The Final Round Of The Duleep Trophy

The Indian Skipper has been cleared by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) after completing his rehabilitation program

The 34-year-old will start in the India B squad, replacing Sarfaraz Khan /

By Ian Omoro

The National Cricket Academy has cleared Suryakumar Yadav and confirmed he is fully fit to play in the 2024–25 Duleep Trophy final round, which gets underway in Anantapur on 19th September.

Suryakumar had been left off the squad before the opening round to tend to a thumb ailment. After taking a hit to his right thumb during pre-season play at the Buchi Babu Invitational in Coimbatore, he complained of some soreness in his grasp on the bat.

He will start for the Abhimanyu Easwaran-led India B against the Shreyas Iyer-led India D, replacing Sarfaraz Khan. India's Test team, including Sarfaraz, will play Bangladesh in a two-test series beginning Thursday in Chennai.

Posting a photo of himself on Tuesday, Suryakumar said, "Next stop: Anantapur," while driving from Bengaluru to Anantapur.

Suryakumar was previously included in the India C team, which is playing well and leads the points table after two games with nine points. India C secured a first-inning advantage and vital points in their second-round match against India B after defeating India D by four wickets in their opening encounter.

Since the June-July Duleep Trophy in last year's cricket season, India's T20I skipper, Suryakumar, has not participated in any first-class matches. But even before the season began, Suryakumar had stated that he wanted to join the Indian Test team.

Presumably, Suryakumar's next assignment will be to play in the home T20Is against Bangladesh. On October 6, 9, and 12, respectively, the three Twenty20 Internationals will take place at Gwalior, Delhi, and Hyderabad. This may rule him out for at least the opening round of the 2024–25 Ranji Trophy, which is scheduled to begin on October 11.

Suryakumar's availability is a big plus because India won't need to look for a new skipper right now, especially with Shubman Gill out of the picture for the T20Is. Gill is India's assigned vice-captain in ODIs and T20Is.

Although Suryakumar Yadav is presently limited to the Indian T20I team, he is adamant about returning to the longer forms.