Suryakumar Yadav's participation in Mumbai's Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament match against Tamil Nadu Cricket Association XI in Coimbatore lasted just 38 balls after he picked up an injury while fielding. Whether the injury puts his participation in the upcoming Duleep Trophy in doubt or not is not known at this stage.
It wasn't a great outing for Mumbai either, as they scored just 156 in reply to TNCA XI's 379, after which TNCA XI scored 286 to set Mumbai 510 to win.
The tournaments, both the Buchi Babu and the Duleep - which starts on September 5 - are important for Suryakumar as he, India's T20I captain, looks to force his way back into India's Test team.
Suryakumar, a white-ball star, played only one Test, against Australia in Nagpur in February 2023, where he scored 8 in his only innings as India won by an innings and 132 runs. "What is in my power right now is to play the Buchi Babu tournament, go on to play the Duleep Trophy and then see what happens," he told reporters before the game in Coimbatore. "But yes, I'm really looking forward. There are ten Test matches lined up and I'm obviously excited for some red-ball fun."
He hasn't played a first-class fixture since last season's Duleep Trophy final - that was in July, so a little over a year ago. Between then and now, he has recuperated from a groin surgery, which kept him out of action for three months. During this period, he was part of both the ODI and T20 World Cups.
At the Duleep Trophy, where a number of India Test hopefuls are taking part and hoping to make a mark, Suryakumar is in Team C, which will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad and includes B Sai Sudharsan and Rajat Patidar, among others. KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan are among the others who are also playing the Duleep Trophy in a bid to return to India's Test set-up.
India's World Test Championship 2023-25 games in the next few months are against Bangladesh (two Tests at home in September-October), against New Zealand (three Tests at home in October-November), against Australia (away from November 2024 to January 2025). That will be followed by a five-Test series in England between June and August.