Suryakumar Yadav Focused On Making A Comeback To Test Cricket

The Indian T20I skipper hopes to "earn his spot" in the Test team

Suryakumar expresses the desire to play test cricket for India/Getty Images /

By Mohamed Bahaa

Indian T20I batting star Suryakumar Yadav stated that red-ball cricket is his top priority and that he wants to "earn a spot" in the Indian Test side. Over the next few months, India will play ten Test matches. Suryakumar has only participated in one Test match, against Australia in February 2023, despite being a mainstay in India's white-ball setup. In that one Test inning, he scored eight runs. He was included as a reserve in the ICC World Test Championship Final squad that same year.

Suryakumar is aware of the difficult task ahead of him, given the competition from Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, and Rajat Patidar.

"There are a lot of people who have worked hard to earn their place and even I want to earn that spot again," Suryakumar said.

"I made my debut for India in Tests. After that, I got injured as well. There were a lot of people who got an opportunity and have done well too. They deserve that opportunity right now.” He added

The 33-year-old will rejoin Mumbai, his home team, to play red-ball cricket in the Duleep Trophy, India's domestic competition. Additionally, Suryakumar plans to participate in the Buchi Babu event.
Anticipating the action, Suryakumar is intent on leaving a good impression.

"Going forward, if I have to play, then I will automatically play. That is not in my control. What is in my power right now is to play the Buchi Babu tournament, go on to play the Duleep Trophy, and then see what happens," said the batter.

"But yes, I'm looking forward (to it). There are ten Test matches lined up and I'm excited for some red-ball fun,” he added

With a respectable average of 43.62 and 14 hundred, he has amassed 5628 runs in 82 first-class matches.

He emphasizes that the longest format has always been his objective in an attempt to break into the Test squad.

"Red-ball cricket has always been my priority. When I grew up in the maidans (grounds) of Mumbai and played a lot of local cricket, I started playing with the red cherry. The love for the longest format began there and has always been there,” Suryakumar added.

"I have taken part in a lot of first-class matches for more than ten years now and I still cherish playing this format,” he concluded.