In less than 2 years in international cricket, Suryakumar Yadav has reached the same level as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in terms of fan popularity in India. Having already proven himself to be a revelation in T20Is, Suryakumar is rapidly inching towards becoming an all-format player for India. A permanent for India in T20Is, Surya is always in the reckoning for ODIs as well… and now if his latest hint is any indication, SKY could be making a jump from India blues to India whites.
Having earned his maiden Test call-up last month in January, Surya could be in line for his Test debut ahead of the much-anticipated 1st match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting February 9 in Nagpur. In his latest Instagram post, Suryakumar shared a picture of a brand-new red SG ball with the caption ‘Hello Friend,’ indicating that he might break into India’s Playing XI for the series opener.
If included, Suryakumar is expected to bat at No. 6 for India, with KL Rahul slotting in at the No. 5 spot. With Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill likely to open followed by Cheteshwar Pujara at 3 and Virat Kohli at 4, the availability of Rahul, Surya and Ravindra Jadeja in the middle order and R Ashwin at 8 will make for a strong batting line-up. India can then opt for either three pacers or two quicks and one additional spinner in Axar Patel as per the Nagpur pitch.
