Suryakumar Yadav Eyes Test Cricket Comeback, Set to Play in Buchi Babu Tournament

Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain, remains determined to make his mark in Test cricket, despite having featured in only one match in the format over a year ago.

Eager to prove his red-ball credentials, Suryakumar has made himself available for the second half of the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament, a pre-season competition in Tamil Nadu, after initially being left out of the Mumbai squad.

Yadav, who will play under the leadership of Sarfaraz Khan, requested the selectors not to alter the team’s captaincy. He is expected to join the Mumbai side for their match against Jammu and Kashmir in Salem, beginning on August 27.

“I want to play for India in all three formats,” Suryakumar told the Times of India. “Playing in Buchi Babu will give me good practice for the red-ball tournaments this season.“

Recently, Suryakumar led India to a 3-0 series victory over Sri Lanka in his debut tour as full-time T20I captain. However, he was not selected for the following ODI series, with selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar stating that Suryakumar was not currently in their ODI plans.

With no more T20Is scheduled for India until the series against Bangladesh in October, Suryakumar has a valuable opportunity to focus on red-ball cricket.

Following the Buchi Babu tournament, he could further stake his claim in the season-opening Duleep Trophy, which will be held in Anantapur and contested by teams selected by the national selectors.

Suryakumar’s last first-class appearance was in the Duleep Trophy in July 2023. Over his first-class career, spanning 82 matches, he has amassed 5,628 runs at an average of 43.62, including 14 centuries and 29 fifties.