Suryakumar Yadav clears fitness test ahead of Asia Cup selection

New Delhi: Ahead of the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel's meeting to pick India's Asia Cup squad, T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav has cleared his fitness test at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

The swashbuckling batter, who last featured in the IPL and was adjudged Player-of-the-Series, had undergone surgery for a sports hernia in the lower-right abdomen in Munich, Germany, in June.

"Fitness tests are mandatory before Return to Play (RTP) post-surgery. Surya has cleared the fitness test," a BCCI source told PTI.

After surgery, Yadav had posted on Instagram: "Life Update: Underwent surgery for a sports hernia in the lower-right abdomen. Grateful to share that after a smooth surgery, I'm already on the road to recovery. Can’t wait to be back." With fitness regained, the stylish batter is now set to attend the selection committee meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The Asia Cup will be played in the UAE from September 9-28, with India scheduled to open their campaign against the hosts on September 10, while the marquee fixture against arch-rivals Pakistan is slated on September 14, both in Dubai.

The 34-year-old enjoyed a stellar IPL season, scoring 717 runs and was only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to score over 600 runs for Mumbai Indians in a season.

He finished behind Orange Cap winner Sai Sudharsan (759 runs) of Gujarat Titans and was instrumental in taking MI to the playoffs, where they beat Gujarat in the Eliminator before bowing out to Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2.

Soon after, he turned out for Triumph Knights Mumbai North East in the T20 Mumbai League, scoring 122 runs in five innings.

It is not clear whether the hernia pain aggravated during this phase.

Suryakumar had an ankle surgery in 2023 and a sports hernia operation as well.