Suryakumar to play for Mumbai in Buchi Babu tourney

India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has confirmed his availability to play one game for Mumbai in the upcoming Buchi Babu Invitational multi-day tournament this year.

He will feature in the second match for Mumbai CA XI against Tamil Nadu Cricket Association XI at Coimbatore, from August 27-30.

Test specialist Sarfaraz Khan has been named the captain of the Mumbai side and Suryakumar, who has also led the domestic giants in the past, will feature as a player since he wants to play in all formats.

Team India’s players will now have a break as the next assignment is against Bangladesh -- a two-match Test series, starting on September 19, in Chennai.

“Suryakumar will play the second match for Mumbai,” an official from the Mumbai Cricket Association said on Wednesday.

The tournament will be held at four venues in Tamil Nadu -- Tirunelveli, Salem, Coimbatore and Natham -- this year.

Another MCA official, on condition of anonymity, said: “Surya wants to play in all three formats for India and as he has always been available for Mumbai whenever free, it won't be otherwise this year too.

“He will play tourneys like Buchi Babu, KSCA (Gold Cup) apart from Ranji Trophy where his presence will also motivate the youngsters in the team."

The Buchi Babu Invitational tournament used to be a season opener in India’s domestic cricket and all Test stars would turn up at the start of the season. The tournament lost its sheen in recent years after failing to attract big names. The last players among those who played while still being India captain were Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Mohammad Azharuddin.

Even Sourav Ganguly, who was dropped by then India Head Coach Greg Chappell, played the Buchi Babu tournament during his comeback trail in the mid-2000s.