Everything just feels so scripted. Suryakumar Yadav is just writing his dream. The star of the T20 World Cup, check. 360-degree hitting. The #1 T20I batter in the world, check. A third T20I century, check. The ICC T20I Cricketer of the Year, check. The whole world mesmerized, check. An Indian Test cap, okay, checked.

This really feels surreal. Just over two years ago, he was left out of all the three squads for the Australian tour after a very successful IPL season. At the age of 30 then, were the doors of national selection shutting on him?

“I always keep going back to my past. When I am in the room, or travelling with my wife, we keep talking how the situation was two-three years ago. What is the situation now, what has changed now from then, we keep discussing that time. Obviously, there was a bit of frustration that time but we always tried to see if there was something positive I could take out of that phase. How could I become a better cricketer, how to go one step ahead,” Surya said in the post-match press conference after smashing his second T20I ton.

And now, at 32, he has become INDIA’S 304^th TEST PLAYER. Forget doors shutting, SKY dada is smashing new doors down. 

It’s not the first time that he’s been called up into the Test squad. During the England tour of 2021 and the home series against New Zealand later that year, he was a travelling member with the team, but was more of a replacement player. He wasn’t in the official squad. He was there because you never knew who Covid would rule out with the rules of the bio-bubble back then.

Don’t be fooled by his supreme success in the white-ball formats. Surya is no one trick pony. He has done the hard yards in the domestic circuit, scoring piles of runs in the Ranji Trophy and the India A tours for years. Underneath all those fancy strokes, lies a solid base and a solid defence, come through the grind of spending hours and hours in the heat and the maidans of Mumbai.

“When we start playing cricket we start with red ball and I have also played first-class cricket for my Mumbai team... it was quite okay, so I have a fair idea about the Test format and I enjoy playing that format also. Hopefully, I will get the Test cap soon,” SKY said. His sights were always clear. 

“Aa raha hain, woh (Test selection) bhi aa raha hain (it’s coming, that is also coming).”

Well, aa hi gaya!