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Suryakumar Yadav feels that the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy is going to be exciting but at the moment his primary focus is to help India clinch the T20I series against New Zealand as the two teams clash in the third T20I at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Suryakumar Yadav has been picked in the squad for the first two Test matches against Australia and is expected to make his debut if Shreyas Iyer failed to recover from injury in time.
The 32-year-old batter said that he has played a lot of cricket at the domestic level and also wants to don the whites for India. The first Test match of the series will be played on February 9 in Nagpur.
“Obviously, everyone wants to play Test cricket. You start your cricket at domestic level, playing with red ball only, and I played for Mumbai. We all know how exciting the series would be, but at the same time, it’s about staying in the present and the focus is on how to give your best for tomorrow’s game, then we have full time to think about Tests,” Suryakumar said in the press conference ahead of 3rd T20I.
Team India would be without Shreyas Iyer for the first Test of the upcoming four-match series against Australia owing to a back injury. The much-awaited Test series will begin on February 9 in Nagpur. Last month, the right-handed batsman had to opt out of the ODI series against New Zealand due to the back injury. He then headed to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for his rehab.
With Shreyas Iyer out of contention for the first Test, the Indian team-management will have to find a new face for the middle-order. And according to the report, uncapped Suryakumar Yadav might end up making his debut in the Nagpur Test.
Suryakumar Yadav played a gritty knock against New Zealand in Lucknow to help India level the series 1-1. He scored an unbeaten 26 runs off 31 balls and hit the winning runs to get the job done. The Mumbaikar attributed his exploits in domestic cricket to his composure while batting in tense situations.
“I’ve played a lot of domestic cricket before making my international debut, that has helped me a lot. You have to apply yourself a lot and the grind you have there, playing on different challenging tracks, I just carried it from there. Rest I’ve learnt seeing so many senior players in the team, talking to them. Every game, I try to put my best foot forward.”
The world’s No. 1 T20I batter has come a long way since making his debut against England at the same venue on March 14, 2021.
Turning a touch emotional, he said: “I told my manager also ‘I’m back where it all began’. Even I took the steps slowly thinking of 2021 and how I came here.”
While Shreyas Iyer has played 7 Tests amassing 624 runs averaging 56.73, Suryakumar Yadav is yet to debut in Tests. But he has featured in 79 First Class games where he amassed 5549 runs averaging 44.75 with 14 tons and 28 fifties.
The 32-year-old Suryakumar Yadav was the highest-run getter in T20Is in 2022, having smashed 1164 runs in 31 games at a stunning strike rate of 187.44, including two blistering centuries. He had set the T20 World Cup 2022 on fire with his blistering performances.
He scored 239 runs in six games played in the T20 carnival and at an exceptional strike rate of 189.68. He was India’s 2nd highest run scorer and overall 3rd (after Virat Kohli-296, Max O’ Dowd-242) in ICC T20 World Cup 2022 with 239 runs averaging 59.75 at a strike rate of 189.68.
He became the No.1 T20I batter after a superb showing in the Super 12 stage of the 2022 T20 World Cup, where he smashed three fifties in five innings. He has amassed 1651 runs in 47 T20Is averaging 47.17.
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