If Suryakumar Yadav scores in England he will prove himself as a top-class player, reckons Salman Butt

Following injuries to Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, and Avesh Khan, the BCCI were forced to add Mumbai players Prithvi Shaw and Suryakumar as the replacements for the much anticipated English tour. The 30-year-old Suryakumar, who made his international debut earlier this year against England, was handed his first ODI cap against Sri Lanka in the first ODI. The Mumbai batsman went on to score 124 runs from three games at an average of 62.00, which resulted in him winning the player of the series award.

Butt, who played eight Tests in England, opined that if the Indian batsman gets the opportunity to play, he must score runs on England pitches to prove his mettle. 

“Suryakumar Yadav has a huge opportunity to make a mark in England if he gets an opportunity to play. People have started developing a view of him as being a classy player. If he scores in England as well, he will prove that he is a top-class player because England is a tough place to score runs,”  Butt said on his YouTube channel.

Before donning the Indian jersey, Suryakumar Yadav was a constant presence in India's List A tours. He has an impressive List A career having scored 2903 from 101 matches at the strike rate of 104.71 with 18 fifties and three hundred to his name. His consistent IPL performances (career average 29.68) also made everyone take notice to a point where he was finally handed his debut at the ripe age of 30. Butt, however, believes that his age and experience has played a part in India giving him a call up in the whites as well. 

“He has debuted at 30. The maturity that he has gained by playing years of domestic cricket is visible in his batting. There are many other talented Indian batsmen who are playing fearless cricket but Suryakumar Yadav is proving to be a lot more mature. Most batsmen are at their peak at the age at which Suryakumar Yadav has made his debut,” Butt said. 

India will play the first of the five Tests against England on August 4 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.