3 possible batting positions for Suryakumar Yadav in India's Test squad

Team India’s T20I batting superstar Suryakumar Yadav has been named in the 17-member squad for the first two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia at home.

The 32-year-old has been rewarded for some exceptional performances in international cricket over the last year as well as his impressive showing in the Ranji Trophy matches that he played in the ongoing season.

Suryakumar made his first-class debut for Mumbai against Delhi back in December 2010, scoring 73 in his first innings. In 79 first-class matches to date, he has amassed 5549 runs at an average of 44.75, with 14 hundreds and 28 half-centuries to his name. He has a best of 200, which came against Orissa in Cuttack in December 2011.

Looking at Team India’s current batting line, it is highly unlikely that Suryakumar would feature in the playing XI in any of the two Tests. Skipper Rohit Sharma will open the batting, most probably with KL Rahul, with Shubman Gill being the backup opener.

Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer pick themselves, while one between Ishan Kishan and KS Bharat would come in for Rishabh Pant as a keeper-batter. They will be followed by all-rounders and bowlers.

In an extreme case where multiple injuries or fitness issues crop up, Suryakumar might end up getting picked in the team. In such a scenario, we look at three possible batting positions for him in the Test playing XI.

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#1 Suryakumar Yadav as swashbuckling opener

SKY scored 90s in two recent Ranji Trophy encounters.

Suryakumar’s batting style is similar to that of explosive former opener Virender Sehwag. Sehwag wasn’t a natural opening batter but was drafted into the role since there was no vacancy in the middle order. The rest, as they say, is history.

After Sehwag, the Indian think-tank tried something similar with current skipper Rohit Sharma under identical circumstances and the move once again paid off. Rohit’s Test career, which seemed to be going nowhere, got a second wind and he has not looked back ever since.

Team India could try out Suryakumar as well in a similar role if the opportunity arises, and see how he fares. Experts might consider his technique not good enough for a top-order batter, but then the same was said about Sehwag and Rohit as well.

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#2 Dashing No. 3

The Mumbai batter averages close to 45 in first-class cricket.

There are two kinds of No. 3 batters in Test cricket. The likes of Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara believe in dogged resistance and frustrating bowlers by batting out time. However, aggressive No. 3s like Ricky Ponting take the bull by the horns.

Suryakumar falls into the second category. He cannot be expected to succeed by defending bowlers. But he could definitely make an impact by going after the bowling. The right-handed batter has some unique strokes in his kitty.

Of course, there is no guarantee that Suryakumar will taste the same amount of success in red-ball cricket as he has done in white-ball cricket. Then again, South African legend AB de Villiers, with whom the Indian batter is often compared, did score plenty of runs in Test cricket by sticking to his aggressive style of play.

Given a chance, there is no reason why the Indian batter also cannot do the same. The 32-year-old recently batted at No. 3 for Mumbai in the ongoing Ranji Trophy and played two fine knocks - 90 off 80 against Hyderabad and 95 off 107 versus Saurashtra.

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#3 Going all-out at No. 5

The 32-year-old has a highest score of 200 in the Ranji Trophy.

The third option could be slotting him into the Test middle order. The swashbuckling batter could play a similar role to what Rishabh Pant does in red-ball cricket for India. Irrespective of the game situation, he could come in and go after bowling from the word go.

He has tasted success doing the same in T20Is. Of course, Test cricket is a completely different ball game. But Pant has proved that succeeding by playing an aggressive brand of cricket is very much possible in Test cricket. It has a lot to do with the mindset of the batter.

Speaking ahead of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, Suryakumar expressed his desire to play Test cricket for India. He had commented:

"Yes, obviously, I've always dreamt of playing Tests for India as well. When you start playing cricket for your state, you start with the red ball. Gradually you get into the white ball team. I feel that this is the best format of the game, and I really enjoy playing it.

"When I started playing age group cricket and the Ranji Trophy, I played red-ball cricket only. At the start of my career, I slowly earned recognition through red-ball cricket. My white-ball (exploits) came later. The red-ball format is very close to my heart.”

Unlike some other T20 specialists, Suryakumar seems determined to prove himself in the red-ball format. Whether he gets an opportunity to fulfill this dream of his remains to be seen.

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