Suryakumar Yadav back in Test reckoning; will be in action in Buchi Babu and Duleep Trophy

After returning from Sri Lanka after his first stint as India’s full-time T20 captain, Suryakumar Yadav asked the Mumbai Cricket Association to include him in the squad for the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in Tamil Nadu.

It came after the Indian team management and selectors indicated that they were looking at Surya as a possible option in red-ball cricket, some 18 months after his only Test, against Australia in Nagpur, where his solitary innings brought only 8 runs.

And now with Surya also finding a place in the Duleep Trophy, turning out for Team C under Ruturaj Gaikwad, he seems to be firmly in the picture for the home Test summer featuring Bangladesh and New Zealand.

The Duleep Trophy marks the official start of the Indian domestic season in the first week of September, but with the Buch Babu tournament kicking off at four centres in Tamil Nadu – Coimbatore, Salem, Dindigul and Tirunelveli – on Thursday, it feels as if the season is already up and running. And over the next three weeks, an audition for middle-order slots in the Test side will take place in Coimbatore, thanks to Mumbai’s star-studded team.

After Surya made himself available, Shreyas Iyer too requested the MCA to include him in the squad for the second match against a Tamil Nadu team. Before the two arrive, it will be Sarfaraz Khan looking for a headstart in the audition. Captaining the Mumbai side here, he knows runs are the only currency that matters in the current scenario.

It’s not just Mumbai stars who will be in action at the Buchi Babu event. Ishan Kishan, who refused to turn up for Ranji Trophy fixtures last season, will be leading Jharkhand and his comeback will begin in Tirunelveli. Highly-rated Railways wicketkeeper Upendra Yadav and Ashutosh Sharma will also feature in the tournament.

Healthy competition

But all eyes will be on the Mumbai side, in which there is a three-way competition for one of the slots in India’s Test squad. In the last Test India played, their middle order featured Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja and Dhruv Jurel. But come September 19 when India take the field against Bangladesh in Chennai, there is no guarantee that the batting order will remain unchanged.

Although Bangladesh and New Zealand at home are India’s immediate challenges, the think tank is already setting its sights on the tour of Australia that begins in mid-November. With India scheduled to play five Tests Down Under, there’s a lot of focus on red-ball cricket with the selectors announcing four-strong squads for the Duleep Trophy on Tuesday.

“When Duleep Trophy begins, you have to be ready and that’s why this tournament is important from my point of view,” Sarfaraz told The Indian Express. “We have been training mostly indoors in Mumbai. We even had a good camp in Alur, where we focused on fitness and skills. But before the season begins, we need to get into match groove.”

After missing out initially from the India squad for the series against England, a spate of injuries handed Sarfaraz his long-awaited Test debut. But with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul available for the Bangladesh series and Surya back in Test fray, there is no guarantee that he will retain his spot in the 15.

When Surya and Shreyas join the Mumbai side for the second game, the competition will only intensify.

“I don’t want to look that far ahead because a lot of it is not in my control. It is important to be in the present. I’ve to be ready at all times and follow the same routines that have got me this far,” Sarfaraz said.

Different motivations

The Buchi Babu tournament is older than the Ranji Trophy, with the first edition being played in 1909. In 2018, the tournament disappeared from the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association calendar but was revived last season after the state team’s red-ball fortunes went on a downward spiral. Mirroring the playing conditions of the Ranji Trophy, the tournament featuring four-day contests is beginning to enjoy the status it once had.

While the audition for India’s middle order would be the biggest takeaway, teams like Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Railways, Baroda, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh have come with the purpose of gaining some much-needed game time before the Ranji Trophy begins in October.

“This season, we have the Ranji Trophy beginning early and we will face varied conditions as the tournament will be played in October-November and January-February. We need this sort of exposure. Nowhere in the north, we would find conditions that will help us improve our game against spinners. We don’t have much representation in the Duleep Trophy, so for a lot of us these four-day matches are a big part of our preparations,” Haryana captain Ashok Menaria says.

Among the teams in fray, Madhya Pradesh, amongst the most consistent teams in Ranji Trophy, are using the tournament to give exposure to youngsters. One look at the squad list, where every single player is born in this century, gives enough indication that they are investing in the future.

Star players in action

Suryakumar Yadav
Shreyas Iyer
Sarfaraz Khan
Ishan Kishan
Ashutosh Sharma
(*TN are yet to announce the squad)

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