Duleep Trophy, Suryakumar Yadav to miss first round: Here's why
Suryakumar Yadav, India's T20I captain, is set to miss the first round of the 2024/25 Duleep Trophy with an injury. Suryakumar, who continues his pursuit of a Test comeback, suffered a hand injury during the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament match in Coimbatore last week, where he represented Mumbai. Suryakumar is presently undergoing routine assessment at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and has been advised rest.
Injury details and impact on Duleep Trophy participation
The injury occurred while Suryakumar was fielding on Day 3 of the Buchi Babu tournament red-ball match against TNCA XI. As a result, he did not bat in the second innings. The Mumbai team management confirmed that this decision was taken as a precautionary measure to ensure his participation in the upcoming Duleep Trophy. Notably, Mumbai lost to TNCA XI by 286 runs.
Suryakumar's Test comeback plans
Suryakumar, who didn't appear in First-Class cricket in over a year, recently expressed his desire to make a Test comeback. He participated in the pre-season Buchi Babu Tournament to prepare for red-ball cricket. Notably, India are scheduled to play 10 Tests over the next five months. The season starts with a two-match series against Bangladesh from September 19 in Chennai.
SKY was included in India C squad
India C squad: Ruturaj Gaikwad (captain), Sai Sudharsan, Rajat Patidar, Abishek Porel (wicket-keeper), B Indrajith, Hrithik Shokeen, Manav Suthar, Gaurav Yadav, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Anshul Khamboj, Himanshu Chauhan, Mayank Markande, Aryan Juyal (wicket-keeper), and Sandeep Warrier.
Other players ruled out of Duleep Trophy opener
In addition to Suryakumar, seamers Mohammed Siraj and Umran Malik have also been sidelined from the initial round of Duleep Trophy due to illness. Navdeep Saini and Gaurav Yadav have replaced Siraj and Malik for the India B and C squads, respectively. Ravindra Jadeja has been withdrawn from the tournament as well, although no specific reason has been provided by the BCCI.
