Former Pakistan opener Salman Butt has come out in support of India’s flamboyant batsman Suryakumar Yadav to do well in Test cricket considering his excellent form in T20 cricket. Suryakumar’s batting exploits have impressed one and all, especially the kind of form he has maintained in the shortest format.
Notably, Suryakumar Yadav is currently ranked first in the ICC T20I rankings having registered 1164 runs in 31 innings in 2022, including two centuries and nine half-centuries. Despite being in excellent form in T20 cricket, the batsman is yet to make his Test debut. Meanwhile, Butt said that Suryakumar would need to make minor changes to his game to flourish in red-ball cricket.
In the latest video on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt said, “Suryakumar Yadav has a lot of experience playing domestic cricket. I think he knows the longer format very well. He should know that he will have to adapt to red-ball cricket. You need to tweak your shot selection a bit while focusing on playing to your strengths.”
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He further added, “His confidence is very high thanks to his tremendous form in white-ball cricket. It will help him when he plays Test matches. He has been playing first-class cricket for almost a decade, which is pretty good for a player of his calibre.
The right-arm pacer featured in a few Ranji Trophy matches for Mumbai in the 2023 edition and scored 233 runs in three innings at an average of 74.33. Salman Butt further said that it will not be difficult for Suryakumar to adapt himself to Test cricket.
Explaining this, Salman said, ‘When someone performs at such a top level in international cricket, it means that he is certainly very intelligent and a sharp thinker. I don’t think it will be too difficult for him.”
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Significantly, this star batsman can make his long-awaited Test debut during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in February. He is among the players in the squad for the first two Tests of the four-match series starting on February 9.
