Former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels Suryakumar Yadav might come in handy for the home team in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 against Australia.
Shastri said Surya, who has been in brilliant form with the bat in T20I cricket, can play little cameos in the middle-order against the spinners on the turning track at Nagpur, the venue for the first Test starting February 9.
"Suryakumar Yadav might get the opportunity in that Test match. And he’s going to play his natural game. I think he’s one player who will be proactive. Especially with Nathan Lyon or the other spinners, he will be looking to score all the time, looking to rotate the strike.
“He might come and play a little cameo on a track that is spinning a lot, where a 30 or 40 could decide the fate of a game. And he can get it quickly and disrupt the opposition. So India will be thinking in that fashion there," Shastri said on Star Sports.
'Surya will be very useful'
The former India all-rounder also pointed out that batters need to constantly rotate the strike to succeed in Tests in this part of the world. And Shastri feels Surya can do that against Australia.
“If you want to do well in India, you have got to rotate the strike. You can’t have bowlers bowling maidens at you.
"You have got to find a way where you want to score, not think of just blocking, because that can create real problems for you. So I think he will be very useful in that position,” Shastri added.
