Suryakumar Yadav ready to embrace Test Cricket challenge if Team management gives him a chance

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New Delhi, Dec 26: Star India batter Suryakumar Yadav has emerged as the best T20 batter India has ever produced. He took the shortest format by storm with his 360-degree hitting skills and established himself as one of the best in the world.

The right-handed batter - who is currently seated at 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, harbours the dream of representing India in the Test whites and believes he's ready for the job should the selectors give him a chance.

Suryakumar ready to embrace Test Challenge

In an interview with PTI, when asked if he fancies his chances of making the India squad for the upcoming Test series against Australia at home, the 32-year-old says he has been playing red-ball cricket since the very beginning of his career and claimed he's ready for the job.

"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 are 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.

'A lot of hard work needed to become mentally strong'

When asked how he trained his mind to cope with pressures at the highest level, the explosive right-handed batter from Mumbai stated that he achieved it with a lot of quality 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 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."

Difficulty in adapting to ODIs

When asked how will he change his game for the ODIs as Team India's priority in the new year will be on the longer format keeping the Cricket World Cup 2023 at home in mind, SKY claimed he always wants to be the game-changer for the team and doesn't give a lot of thinking about the format.

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 visualise 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?"