Suryakumar Yadav eyes Test cricket comeback

Suryakumar Yadav, India's T20I captain, is determined to make his mark in Test cricket, despite having played just one Test match over a year ago. The versatile batsman has made himself available for the second half of the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament, a pre-season first-class competition in Tamil Nadu, signaling his intent to strengthen his red-ball credentials.

Initially not included in Mumbai's young squad for the tournament, Suryakumar informed the selectors of his eagerness to participate. He will join the team under the leadership of Sarfaraz Khan, having requested that the captaincy remain unchanged. Suryakumar is expected to feature in Mumbai's match against Jammu and Kashmir, starting on August 27 in Salem.

Speaking to the Times of India, Suryakumar expressed his desire to play across all formats for India. "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," he said.

Suryakumar recently led India to a 3-0 T20I series victory over Sri Lanka, his first tour as the full-time T20I captain. However, he wasn't included in the squad for the subsequent ODI series, with selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar stating that Suryakumar was not currently in their plans for ODIs.

With no T20I matches scheduled for India until October, Suryakumar has a valuable opportunity to focus on red-ball cricket. After the Buchi Babu Invitational, the season-opening Duleep Trophy in Anantapur will follow, featuring four teams selected by the national selectors.

Suryakumar's last first-class appearance was in the Duleep Trophy in July 2023. Over his career, he has played 82 first-class matches, scoring 5628 runs at an average of 43.62, including 29 half-centuries and 14 centuries.