Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Suryakumar Yadav be yourself on Test debut, says former head coach Ravi Shastri

Former India cricketer and head coach Ravi Shastri penned a heartfelt note for Suryakumar Yadav on his Test debut against Australia on February 9.

Suryakumar Yadav made his Test debut against Australia on February 9. (Photo: Twitter/RaviShastri)

By India Today Web Desk: Former India head coach Ravi Shastri urged Suryakumar to be himself on his Test debut against Australia in the first match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on February 9.

World number one T20I batter Suryakumar earned his India Test cap on the back of his success in white-ball cricket. Shastri, who presented the cap to Suryakumar, tweeted: “Surya – shine on. You redefined batting in T20s and now it is turn of the truest form – Test. Be yourself.”

Earlier, Shastri had picked Suryakumar to bat at number five in India’s squad for the first Test against Australia. The 1983 World Cup champion said that Suryakumar can bat at number five in the absence of the injured Shreyas Iyer. Shastri further said that it is important to play the “right guy” at the “right number”.

“At number five, Suryakumar (Yadav) will get the position, because there’s no Shreyas (Iyer). There’ll be talk about, ‘can (Shubman) Gill bat at five?’ I think you need the right guy for the right number. At five, when you go there, especially if the ball is turning, then you need someone who is good at playing the right shots against spin. Surya demands that position. I think it’s straightforward,” Shastri told ICC.

On Day 1 of the first Test in Nagpur, Ravindra Jadeja took a five-wicket haul and Ravichandran Ashwin picked three wickets as India bundled out Australia for just 177. In reply, India captain Rohit Sharma hit a fifty on his return to the longest format of the game. Rohit had missed the rescheduled Birmingham Test against England due to Covid-19 and two-test series against Bangladesh due to a thumb injury.

Todd Murphy broke the opening partnership, dismissing a struggling KL Rahul (20 off 71). India reached 77/1 at stumps, trailing Australia by 100 runs.