File photo of Suryakumar Yadav.© Twitter
Suryakumar Yadav has been going from strength to strength in the last few months. The world No. 1 T20I batter was recently promoted to the position of vice-captain in the T20I series against Sri Lanka. On Friday, Suryakumar was added to India’s Test squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series against Australia. The Chetan Sharma-led new selection committee could not ignore Suryakumar’s current form as he got his second call-up in a Test squad. He had earlier been a cover in 2021 at Kanpur during a Test series against New Zealand.
Former Sri Lanka coach and Australia star Tom Moody has heaped praise on the star batter.
“Suryakumar Yadav is my favourite T20 batter. Just the way he plays, it’s breathtaking. It reminds me so much of… when I was a young cricketer, watching the likes of Vivian Richards. The player that seems to be in control of the game single-handedly,” said Moody in an interview to Sports Tak.
Whether Suryakumar will get a chance or not in the playing XI can’t be predicted but his technique against spinners on Indian tracks is exemplary. With no Rishabh Pant in the mix, India are missing that X-factor in the middle-order, who can take the game away in one session.
Hence Surya’s addition is a welcome move in the 17-member squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Suryakumar recently played two Ranji matches for Mumbai, scoring 90 vs Hyderabad and 95 vs Saurashtra in quick time. He has already played 79 first-class games with 5549 runs at an average of nearly 45. As far as Ishan’s selection is concerned, it was more or less a straight forward one as he is a like for like replacement of Pant being a left-hander.
(With PTI inputs)
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