Top India players to watch out for in Buchi Babu Tournament 2024. Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and few more India players participating in the tournament ahead of red ball season.
In the past week, India’s domestic cricket season commenced with the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association’s Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament 2024. The four-day domestic tournament comprises 12 teams divided into four groups with three teams each.
Traditional powerhouses like Mumbai, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Baroda are part of this tourney that includes sides like Jharkhand, Hyderabad, Jammu & Kashmir, Chhattisgarh, Railways, and Haryana, apart from two sides representing TNCA.
Round 1 of the tournament has already been completed, with Jharkhand edging past MP by two wickets. Gujarat were comprehensively beaten at the hands of Railways by 139 runs, while both the Haryana-Mumbai and J&K-Chhattisgarh fixtures ended in draws.
Traditionally, the Buchi Babu tournament is preparatory for the domestic teams ahead of their long and tedious season. This year, several individuals in the national set-up will feature in the Buchi Babu tournament. They will bank upon this tournament and pile up runs to strengthen their chances for selection in India’s Test team.
We have already witnessed a player who made the right noise in his red-ball cricket comeback. He is none other than Ishan Kishan. The left-hander, leading the Jharkhand team, smashed 114 before playing a match-winning hand in the second innings (41*) against MP. Likewise, four other batters will look to make the most out of this tourney.
Read More: A Middle Order Dilemma: Sarfaraz Khan and Suryakumar Yadav’s Quest for India’s Test Squad
Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan made his long-awaited Test debut for India in their last home series against England in early 2024. He started with twin fifties (62 & 68*) on his debut at Rajkot before another 50+ score in the last Test at Dharamshala.
With an astonishing average of 68.53 in 48 first-class matches, Sarfaraz has been a domestic stalwart. However, his India call-up took a relatively long time to come to fruition, and even with these numbers, he isn’t a definite starter for India in Tests.
This is due to India’s packed middle order. Moreover, the arrival of players like KL Rahul and Virat Kohli will make matters tough for Sarfaraz. Hence, a couple0 of high scores are needed in the Buchi Babu tourney. And this makes him a player to watch out for.
Ishan Kishan
Kishan had a tough 2024 thus far concerning selection as well as form. Having taken a break from the sport in late 2023, the left-hander fell out of reckoning in terms of national team selection. He also didn’t have the best IPL season.
The only way for him to move up the ladder again is to perform in the long domestic season by scoring heavy runs. He started to do that in the opening Buchi Babu fixture and will look to continue with a similar kind of form in the upcoming games.
Read More: Buchi Babu Tournament 2024: Ishan Kishan slams ton in comeback game for Jharkhand
Shreyas Iyer
The IPL 2024-winning skipper with Kolkata Knight Riders is another player who went out of favour in terms of national selection. Though he featured in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Shreyas Iyer doesn’t have a national contract as of now.
But a good show at Buchi Babu followed by the Duleep Trophy might pave the way to retain his spot in the Test team. As such, Shreyas will be a batter to watch out for in TNCA’s invitational tournament.
Suryakumar Yadav
Not in the scheme of things for the last home Test series against England, Suryakumar Yadav has a chance to be back in the reckoning. He can hit the selector’s doors with a strong performance in the Buchi Babu for Mumbai as well as in the Duleep Trophy for India C.
However, India’s middle order has many contenders. As such, there is room for Surya to stake a claim in India’s Test batting order. Boosted by a great first-class record, a string of huge scores in these games might propel his case to add more Test caps in the future.
Abdul Samad
At just 22, Abdul Samad has about 50 games of IPL experience and already has four first-class centuries to his name in 23 games. He boasts a stunning strike rate of 100.66 in red-ball cricket.
Therefore, it is time for him to make opportunities count and transition to the big stage. This can happen in this year’s domestic cricket, and it could start with the Buchi Babu tourney, where he can showcase his true class.
Read More: Ahead of long Test season, Rishabh Pant’s tryst with red ball takes place in Duleep Trophy 2024-25
