Virat Kohli reacts to video of Ravi Shastri telling Surya that he 'can play Test cricket'

Former India captain Virat Kohli has liked a video on social media where Ravi Shastri can be heard telling Suryakumar Yadav that he can play Test cricket for the country. The video was shared by the ICC on Instagram after Yadav played an unbeaten knock of 51 off 25 balls during India's match against the Netherlands at the ongoing Men's T20 World Cup in Australia. Shastri, who was the former head coach of Team India, backed Yadav for a Test call-up, calling him an all-format player. 

T20 WC: Ravi Shastri calls Suryakumar a 'three-format player' for India

"I think he is a three-format player. I know they don't talk about him for Test cricket. Let me tell you. This guy can play Test cricket and he can surprise a few. Send him there at No. 5 and let him stir it up," Shastri said in the video shared by the ICC on its official Instagram handle.

Kohli, who is Yadav's national teammate, seemed to be in agreement with Shastri's comment as he dropped a like on the video. Yadav has played 77 First-Class games for Mumbai and has scored 5326 runs at an average of 44.01, including 14 centuries and 26 half-centuries. Kohli has, however, retracted the like from the video.

SKY's India career

Yadav made his international debut in a T20I game against England in 2021. He did not get an opportunity to bat in his first match as another debutant in the form of Ishan Kishan helped India chase down the total alongside Virat Kohli. In his next game, when he finally got the chance, Yadav scored 57 runs off just 31 balls and helped India post a mammoth total of 185 runs on the board. 

Since his debut, Yadav has played a total of 38 T20I games for India and has scored 1209 runs, including one century and 11 half-centuries. The 32-year-old has an average of 40.30 and an impressive strike rate of 177.27. He is currently the world's No. 1 ranked T20I batter and has the best strike rate among players from ICC full member nations. Yadav is currently the second-highest run-scorer for India at the ongoing T20 World Cup. He has scored two half-centuries in the tournament. 

Image: Twitter@BCCI