Stay humble if you do well or go back to the drawing board if you don’t: Suryakumar Yadav

India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav aims to transition to red-ball cricket, eyeing a spot in the Test squad.

India’s T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav is a giant in the format and his astronomical numbers speak for themselves. However, the Mumbai batter is excited and motivated to play red-ball and multi-day cricket. In a chat along the sidelines of the Buchi Babu tournament, he revealed that he was keen to stake a claim in the Test squad. Excerpts:

You’ve made the call to play the Buchi Babu tournament. This shows that you want to get back into the red-ball scheme of things. How much does competing in the longest format mean to you?

Red-ball cricket has always been my priority. When I grew up in the maidans of Mumbai and played a lot of local cricket, I started playing with the red cherry. The love for the longest format began there, and has always been there.

I’ve taken part in a lot of First Class matches for more than 10 years now and I still cherish playing this format. There’s no question about it and that’s why I’m here before the Duleep Trophy.

I will always look for an opportunity to come and play for Mumbai, be it in First Class or a tournament like the Buchi Babu. A lot of international players have played in this competition before and have gone on to represent the country.

Could you elaborate on the experience of playing such events during the season?

We are fortunate to have this tournament because we don’t get many multi-day games back home during this weather. Yes, you can practice for a couple of hours, but standing in the heat for six hours and doing that three or four days in a row is only possible through a game. That’s very important going forward in the Duleep Trophy and, hopefully, in Tests.