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Champions Trophy Dream Over For SKY? T20I Star Fails Again In Vijay Hazare Trophy

Aakash Saini

Suryakumar Yadav [Source: @CricPage1/x]Suryakumar Yadav [Source: @CricPage1/x]

Suryakumar Yadav’s aspirations of making a return to India’s ODI setup in time for the impending 2025 ICC Champions Trophy took another hit as the star batter was once again dismissed for a listless score in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 season. Turning up for Mumbai in their Group C match of the tournament against Punjab, the 34-year-old was trapped by national teammate Arshdeep Singh for a five-ball duck.

Suryakumar Yadav has accrued just 38 runs in his past three 50-overs innings for Mumbai, and just 100 runs overall in his last seven white-ball appearances spanning across the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy and the preceding 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy seasons.

Suryakumar continues to struggle in 50-overs before CT

Back in early-2023, Suryakumar Yadav recorded three ducks in a row during India’s three-match home ODI series against Australia. In the 2023 World Cup later that year, the T20I batting superstar failed to justify his selection as he gathered just 106 runs in the tournament at a below-par average of 17.67. Moreover, the cricketer also failed to lift India’s scoring rate in the high-profile final against Australia, even though the match situation reached a tailormade scenario for his batting style at one stage.

Owing to his lackluster returns in 50-overs internationals, Suryakumar Yadav played the last of his 37 ODIs for India back in November 2023, and has not been considered for national selection since then.

In a bid to jump back to ODI reckoning in time for the 2025 Champions Trophy, the hard-hitting middle-order batter took field for Mumbai for some Vijay Hazare Trophy matches, but constant failures with the bat in his recent outings seems to have pushed his prospects further back by a few steps.

Suryakumar Yadav will now likely face Nagaland on December 31 in Ahmedabad, while the BCCI is expected to reveal India’s squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy within the coming weeks.