Aakash Chopra opines on Suryakumar Yadav's inclusion in Test side

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Suryakumar Yadav should not be rushed into the Indian Test side based upon his performances in the limited-overs format, especially the T20Is. The 32-year-old batter is in red-hot form, as he has notched up three T20I tons in a span of six months and provided India with some magnificent performances.

In the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka, Suryakumar notched up a 51-ball 117* which helped India reach a humongous total of 228/5. Thanks to his knock, India won the third T20I of the series, and clinched the series 2-1. After his powerful knock, there were experts who suggested that Suryakumar should be tried in red-ball cricket.

“I feel let's not get obsessed. It is our country's tendency to get slightly obsessed, that if we get a player, we say he should be played in all three formats. At this point in time, I feel we are wanting to do that with Shubman Gill. We were extremely eager to do that with Rishabh Pant earlier, that he is doing well, let's play him in all formats. The same talk is happening with Suryakumar now because there is no doubt about the level at which he is batting,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.

You can let him remain a white-ball player: Chopra

In T20I cricket, Suryakumar has been in outstanding form. The power-hitter has scored 1578 runs in 45 games at a phenomenal average of 46.41 and a fantastic strike rate of 180.34. Chopra explained that as the batter hasn't even recently participated in many first-class matches, he should only be taken into account for limited-overs cricket.

“I would still say that this is an ODI World Cup year, the T20 World Cup will also happen after two years, neither has he played Test cricket nor has he played much first-class cricket for a long time, although he did hit a century recently, but I am not a huge fan,” Chopra added.

Chopra concluded by pointing out that if Suryakumar plays across all three formats, workload management will also be a challenge. He also mentioned that things could fall apart if he injures himself In any manner while managing to play in three formats. Stating that there aren’t many vacant positions on India’s Test side, Chopra further added:

“I would say keep it slightly separate. Why do you want to force it? It is not required. If a lot of spots are vacant and you want to play him, it's very good. But to bat at No. 5 or No. 6 - I personally feel that you can let him remain a white-ball player.”

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