National Cricket Academy gives Surya Kumar Yadav a green signal for final round of 2024-25 Duleep Trophy starting in Anantapur on Thursday. He is replacing Sarfaraz Khan in Abhimanyu Easwaran-led India B, gearing up for India D team led by Shreyas Iyer.

Sarfaraz is now in the Test team of India for a two-Test series against Bangladesh beginning Thursday in Chennai. Suryakumar was withdrawn from the squad before the first round owing to a thumb injury he suffered while fielding during the pre-season Buchi Babu Invitational in Coimbatore. He had grip uneasiness with the bat, which he says he is good to go after.

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As the T20I captain of India, Suryakumar hasn’t played first-class cricket since last year’s Duleep Trophy in June-July. However, he has been stating in the strongest of terms that he would like to fight for a spot in the Test team going into the next season.

There are a lot of people who have worked really hard to earn their place and even I want to earn that spot again,” Suryakumar had said last month. “I made my debut for India in Tests. After that, I got injured as well. There were a lot of people who got an opportunity and have done well too. They deserve that opportunity right now.

“Going forward, if I have to play, then I will automatically play. That’s not in my control. What’s in my power right now is to play (ongoing tournaments like Buchi Babu and Duleep) and then see what happens. But yes, I’m really looking forward to it. There are ten Test matches lined up (for India this season) and I’m obviously excited for some red-ball fun.”

Suryakumar Yadav will return for T20Is against Bangladesh in October, which in turn could jeopardize his availability for at least the opening round of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy season on October 11.

India B, who dominated the first round by thumping a strong India A side, are currently second of the four teams. An outright win in their last game will be expected to make them pretty much sure of the title.

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