'Hello friend': Suryakumar Yadav's Instagram story hints towards Test debut vs Australia

Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav took to his official Instagram handle on Friday and shared a picture that sparked speculations about his debut in Test cricket. India is up against Australia in a four-match Test series, officially known as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from February 9 onwards. Ahead of the much-anticipated series, Yadav has hinted towards making his Test debut for India against the Aussies.

Yadav shared a picture of a red leather ball on his Instagram stories and captioned it saying, “Hello friend”. It is pertinent to mention that he can be included in India’s playing XI for the first Test against Australia as a replacement for Shreyas Iyer. Iyer injured himself ahead of India’s recently concluded white-ball assignment against New Zealand.

Shreyas Iyer ruled out of India vs Australia, first Test match

Earlier this week, Iyer was ruled out of the first Test against Australia and is said to be recovering at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. The star batsman continues to remain in the squad for the second Test and is expected to join the squad ahead of the second Test. While the first Test in Nagpur concludes on February 13, the teams will travel to Delhi for the second Test which begins on February 17.

Meanwhile, this comes as a perfect opportunity for Suryakumar to make his Test debut and prove his talent in the longest format of the games as well. The 32-year-old has already conquered the ODI and T20I formats with explosive performances after making his debut in 2021. He was chosen as the ICC Men’s T20 Cricketer of the Year 2022 and has already hit 1675 runs in the format after playing 48 T20Is.

In the ODI format, Suryakumar has scored 433 runs in 20 matches so far. The star player has played 79 first-class games in his domestic career, scoring 5549 runs at an average of 44.75. In the process, Suryakumar has hit 14 centuries and 28 fifties in total.

India vs Australia, four-match Test series: Check full schedule

India vs Australia 1st Test from February 9 to 13 at VCA Stadium, Nagpur

India vs Australia 2nd Test from February 17 to 21 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi

India vs Australia 3rd Test from March 1 to 5 at HPCA Stadium, Dharamshala

India vs Australia 4th Test from March 9 to 13 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad