Suryakumar Yadav Ranji Trophy: India's Mr 360 Suryakumar Yadav dreams of Test debut, says 'Red-ball format is very close to my heart'

Suryakumar Yadav Ranji Trophy: World No1 T20 batter Suryakumar Yadav eyes a test debut for India as he returns to red ball cricket with state side Mumbai. Afforded a rest from the Bangladesh tour, the 32-year-old will feature in Mumbai’s second Ranji Trophy game starting on Tuesday. It marks Surya’s first red ball game in over three years having conquered the shortest format of the game for India. Follow Ranji Trophy 2022 LIVE Updates on Insidesport.IN

Also Read: IND vs SL series: Snubbed for Bangladesh Tests, Suryakumar Yadav returns to Ranji Trophy, Mr 360 grinds in the nets ahead of red ball return – Watch video

Suryakumar Yadav Ranji Trophy: India’s Mr 360 Suryakumar Yadav returns to Ranji Trophy after 3 years amid dreams of Test debut, says ‘Red-ball format is very close to my heart’ – Check out

Speaking to the Times of India, Suryakumar Yadav revealed his hunger to play red-ball cricket for India. Fondly dubbed as SKY, the 32-year-old has been a revelation for India over the past 12 months in white ball cricket. With a stellar T20 World Cup, two T20I centuries and a World No1 under his belt, Surya is now back to Ranji Trophy.

He will feature in his first Ranji Trophy game in almost three years. He last played for Mumbai in February 2020 before the pandemic struck. Now back with the side, Suryakumar Yadav has no love lost for his teammates or the format.

“Yes, obviously, I’ve always dreamt of playing Tests for India as well. When you start playing cricket for your state, you start with the red ball. Gradually you get into the white ball team. I feel that this is the best format of the game, and I really enjoy playing it,” Surya told TOI.

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Suryakumar began his career in the Ranji Trophy before excelling in IPL and international cricket. The 32-year-old harbours dream of playing Test cricket for India and hopes that a return to the Ranji Trophy can help his case. He was not considered for the test against Bangladesh, but a series against Australia next year could open doors.

“When I started playing age group cricket and the Ranji Trophy, I played red-ball cricket only. At the start of my career, I earned slowly earned recognition through red-ball cricket. My white-ball (exploits) came later. The red-ball format is very close to my heart. I really enjoy playing it,” he said.

Suryakumar Yadav Ranji Trophy: India’s Mr 360 Suryakumar Yadav returns to Ranji Trophy after 3 years amid dreams of Test debut, says ‘Red-ball format is very close to my heart’ – Check out

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has backed Suryakumar to excel in the longest format of the game. SKY has spent time with the Indian red ball team, often as a reserve. However, he has failed to get a breakthrough. In fact, Yadav has let the head coach Rahul Dravid know of his ambitions to play the format. The duo also worked on his red ball game in the nets.

“I remember that in the Test series against New Zealand (last year), when I was batting in the nets in Kanpur. He told me that ‘You’re looking good. You just need to curtail a few strokes. Juts be yourself. At the end of the day, its about scoring runs in this format as well. Just keep things simple and enjoy what you’re doing.” Yadav reveals.

Suryakumar Yadav Ranji Trophy: India’s Mr 360 Suryakumar Yadav returns to Ranji Trophy after 3 years amid dreams of Test debut, says ‘Red-ball format is very close to my heart’ – Check out

While the Test dream is far, he is excited to return to Mumbai and play First Class cricket. A change in format is no problem for Suryakumar, who believes it is his simple mindset that has helped in his success.

“I try and keep things really simple. I’m a strong believer in my routines and processes which I follow on all net and match days. So, the message to everyone will be the same. Irrespective of what you are doing-scoring runs or not-try and keep that balance in your life and rest everything will be taken care of automatically,” explained Yadav.

He is the highest T20I run-scorer this year. But the batter has not been able to replicate his T20I success in ODIs. He has scored only 260 runs in 13 ODIs this year at an average of 26.00 and just one half-century under his belt. Notably, Suryakumar has a fantastic first-class cricket record. In 77 matches and 129 innings, he has scored 5,326 runs at an average of 44.01. He has scored 14 centuries and 26 half-centuries, with the best individual score of 200.