Courtesy: X
Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian cricketer, has been declared fit by the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, to play in the final round of the Duleep Trophy 2024, which is set to begin on Thursday, September 19. With that, Suryakumar Yadav, who was earlier withdrawn from the tournament as a precautionary measure to take care of his thumb injury, will be replacing Sarafaz Khan in the India B squad, while the latter is currently a part of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh.
Notably, India B, led by Abhimanyu Easwaran, will be taking on Shreyas Iyer-led India D at the Rural Development Trust Stadium B in Anantapur, aiming to win the four-day Duleep Trophy clash, to give themselves the best chance of finishing in first place in the standings after the third and final round of matches. Suryakumar Yadav, the newest addition to India B lineup, who had sustained a blow on his right thumb during the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament in Coimbatore, has recovered from his injury at the NCA, to become available for the Duleep Trophy 2024.
I want to earn that spot again: Suryakumar Yadav on playing Test cricket for India
After being appointed as the new T20I captain of India, Surykumar Yadav, 34, who hasn’t played any red ball cricket since the summer of 2023, spoke about his intention to earn a spot in the Indian Test team. He was quoted as saying, as per ESPNcricinfo, “There are a lot of people who have worked really hard to earn their place and even I want to earn that spot again. 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.”
Suryakumar Yadav, who made his Test debut for India in February 2023 against Australia at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur, also talked about his plan to earn a spot in the longest format of the game. He said, “Going forward, if I have to play, then I will automatically play. That's not in my control. What's in my power right now is to play [ongoing tournaments like Buchi Babu and Duleep] and then see what happens. But yes, I'm really looking forward to it. There are ten Test matches lined up [for India this season] and I'm obviously excited for some red-ball fun.”
Moreover, the earliest possible date of return for Suryakumar Yadav to Test could be October 12 when India play their first Test of the three-match series against New Zealand. Before that, he is likely to captain India in the three-match T20I series against Bangladesh at the start of next month.
