The best T20 batter India has ever produced is star Indian batter, Surya Kumar Yadav. With his 360-degree hitting prowess, he dominated the shortest format and made a name for himself as one of the finest in the world.
The right-handed batter – who is currently seated at the No.1 spot in the ICC T20I Rankings – wishes to become an equally accomplished batter in the longer formats without tinkering with the essence of his batting.
The Mumbaikar, like every other batter, harbors the dream of representing India in the Test whites and believes he’s ready for the job should the selectors give him a chance.
Ready to take on the test challenge is Surya Kumar. The 32-year-old said that he has been playing red-ball cricket since the start of his career and that he is qualified for the position when asked if he thinks he will make India’s selection for the forthcoming Test series against Australia at home.
“I started playing age-group national level cricket in red ball, so the answer lies there itself. There are a lot of tricky yet fascinating situations that you encounter across five days and you want to embrace that challenge. Yes, I am ready if they (Indian team management) need me, “SKY said.
SKY’s First-Class Batting Stats He has played 78 First Class Matches and scored 5416 runs at an average of 44.39 and a healthy strike rate of 103.74. He has also slammed three centuries and 19 fifties. Team India is hosting Australia for a 4-Test series in February-March and retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is crucial for the home side to keep their World Test Championships 2022-23 Final qualification chances in mind.
It takes a lot of effort to develop mental strength. The explosive right-handed hitter from Mumbai responded when asked how he developed his mental toughness to handle difficulties at the top level, saying he did it by putting in a lot of good practice.
He said, “I would say it was never impossible but certainly it was difficult.
It needed a smart approach. Instead of doing a lot of quantity, I did a lot of quality practice. There were a lot of sacrifices made by me and my family. Before making my India debut, I had played 10 years of first-class cricket. Grinding it out at the first-class level, you learn a lot of tricks of the trade. So, when you graduate to the international level and play different bowlers, all you need to do is express yourself. But let me tell you this. If you have gone through the domestic grind in India, you are ready for international cricket and when you start that level, you are not carrying any baggage. Just execute what you did at the domestic level.”
ODIs are difficult to adapt to SKY said that he always aims to be the game-changer for the team and doesn’t give the format much thought when asked how he will alter his game for the ODIs as Team India’s focus in the coming year will be on the longer format with the Cricket World Cup 2023 at home in mind.
Surya added further, “I don’t like to think too much when I am playing any format. Because I enjoy this game, whenever I go to bat, I put up a show. What I always dream and visualize is that whenever I go in, I want to be the game-changer. I have always loved batting whether it is T20Is, ODIs or Ranji Trophy. If I can do what my team wants me to do in 40-50 balls, why should I bat 100 balls?”
