'Has a lot of experience in domestic cricket' - Salman Butt backs Suryakumar Yadav to excel in Test cricket

Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt has backed flamboyant India batter Suryakumar Yadav to flourish in Test cricket considering his sensational form in the white-ball format. Suryakumar’s batting exploits have impressed many, especially with the kind of form he has maintained in the shortest format.

Notably, Suryakumar is currently the No.1 batter in the T20Is, having registered 1164 runs in 31 innings in 2022, including two centuries and nine half-centuries. Despite his sublime form in white-ball cricket, the batter is yet to make his Test debut. Meanwhile, Butt opined that Suryakumar will need to make minor changes to his game to flourish in red-ball cricket.

"Suryakumar Yadav has a lot of experience playing domestic cricket. I think he knows the longer format very well. He should be aware that he will have to adapt to red-ball cricket. You need to change your shot selection a bit, focusing on playing to your strengths," Butt said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.

"He is very high on confidence thanks to his tremendous form in white-ball cricket. That is going to help him when he plays Test matches. He has been playing first-class cricket for nearly a decade, which is quite good for a player of his ability,” he added.

He’s a very intelligent and quick thinker: Salman Butt

The swashbuckling right-hander featured in two Ranji Trophy matches for Mumbai in the 2023 edition and scored 233 runs at an average of 74.33 in three innings. Butt further added that it would not be tricky for Suryakumar to acclimatize himself in the longest format.

"When someone performs in such a top-class fashion in international cricket, it means that surely is very intelligent and a quick thinker. I don't think it will be very tough for him," Butt concluded.

It is worth noting that the star batter could make his long-awaited Test debut during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in February. He is among the players included in the squad for the first two Tests of the four-match series, starting on February 9.