Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav of Mumbai Indians plays a shot. Image Credit: Sportzpics for BCCI

New Delhi: After batsman Suryakumar Yadav was included in the 19-member India squad that will face England in a five-match T20 series starting on March 12 in Ahmedabad, an old social media post by a member of the team’s current selection panel has gained attention.

“Sky’s time will come,” Abey Kuruvilla had said in a comment on Facebook in November 2019 to a post that listed Yadav’s stats. ‘Sky’ is a common nickname for Yadav. Kuruvilla, along with fellow former fast bowlers Chetan Sharma and Debashish Mohanty constitute the current Indian selection panel with Sharma being the chairman.

The selectors were criticised for ignoring Yadav for India’s T20 series in Australia despite his consistent performances for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League in the UAE and impressive numbers in domestic cricket.

Yadav’s Mumbai Indians teammate, Ishan Kishan, who hammered a record-setting 94-ball 173 in a Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Saturday, also got a call up for the England series, along with Rajasthan Royals spin-bowling all-rounder Rahul Tewatia.