Suryakumar bats for the first time after sports hernia surgery

Suryakumar Yadav, India's T20I captain, had his first batting session at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru late last week following a surgery for sports hernia in Germany in July.

Suryakumar is currently under the supervision of BCCI's medical staff, as he recovers from surgery on his lower right abdomen. His workload will be increased progressively over the next few weeks and he's believed to be on track for the Asia Cup beginning on September 9 in UAE.

ESPNcricinfo understands his rehabilitation was planned with a return for the T20I leg of the Bangladesh tour in late August - a series that was deferred to 2026.

Suryakumar's most recent outing was for Triumph Knights Mumbai North East in the Mumbai T20 League in June, soon after the completion of IPL 2025. He hit 122 runs in four innings. He was also in consideration to be named in the West Zone squad for Duleep Trophy but will probably miss that tournament.

India's squad is likely to fly to the UAE in the first week of September for the Asia Cup, and West Zone don't play until September 4 after being given a direct entry to the semi-finals. As part of his build-up to the tournament, Suryakumar might play a few practice matches and undergo simulation exercises organised by the CoE in the final week of his rehab.

The Asia Cup marks the start of India's runway to next year's T20 World Cup which they co-host with Sri Lanka. If he plays, it will be Suryakumar's first multi-nation tournament as T20I captain since taking over the leadership in the shortest format from Rohit Sharma following their T20 World Cup win in 2024.