Last Updated on 3 years by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Ricky Ponting’s huge praise for Suryakumar Yadav | Ricky Ponting compares Suryakumar Yadav to ABD
Speaking to the ICC Review, former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has equated Suryakumar Yadav’s playing style with that of AB de Villiers. Ponting backed Yadav to take over the number four spot in the Indian batting line-up. He even appreciated the Mumbai Indians (MI) batsman’s ability to pull off a wide repertoire of shots.
“Surya (Yadav) scores 360 degrees around the ground, a bit like an AB de Villiers did when he was in his actual prime. The lap shots, the late cuts, you know, the ramps over the keeper’s head. He can hit down the ground,” Ponting’s comments in the aforementioned show was quoted in a report by ESPNCricinfo.
He added, “He hits really well over the leg side, flicks to deep backward square particularly well, and he’s a good player of fast bowling and is a good player of spin bowling.”
Suryakumar Yadav can open or bat four for India – Ponting
Ponting had spent some time with Yadav during the latter’s earlier stint with MI in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He lauded the batsman’s match-winning ability and his tendency to back himself to get the job done in all situations.
The 31-year-old has been a revelation in T20Is ever since debuting in the format back in February 2021. He has scored 672 runs at an average of 37.33 in merely 23 T20Is so far. During this while, the dynamic batsman has maintained a majestic strike rate of 175.45 whilst having scored five half-centuries and a century already. He has climbed to the number two spot in the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings and is likely to displace the top-placed Babar Azam very soon.
“He’s quite a confident person. He backs himself and he’s never going to step down from a challenge or any situation that arises in a game. I feel he thinks he can win that situation and therefore go on and win the game for his team,” Ponting further spoke about Surya.
“Surya (Yadav) scores 360 degrees around the ground, a bit like an AB de Villiers did when he was in his actual prime. The lap shots, the late cuts, you know, the ramps over the keeper’s head. He can hit down the ground,”
Ricky Ponting on Suryakumar Yadav.
He explained that the batsman has fared better than any other Indian batsman in the previous few series at least. Ponting lauded Yadav’s adaptability across different positions but backed him to bat at number four to control the game better in the Indian T20I setup. Furthermore, the veteran Australian ex-skipper also opined that Virat Kohli should hold on to his usual number three slot in the XI.
“It’s got to be in the top four, I think. I said stick with him (Virat Kohli) in his traditional spot, which has been No. 3. For Surya, it’s one, two or four. I think he can open, but I think he’s probably, you know, if you could probably just keep him away from the new ball, let him control the middle part of the game outside the Powerplay, through in the middle, and if he’s in at the end, you know what can happen,” Ponting outlined his ideal batting combination for the Indian team.
India will be playing the Asia Cup prior to the T20I series against Australia and South Africa in the build-up to the T20 World Cup that will begin in October in Australia. The team management might be looking at these contests as an ideal preparation stage to fine-tune their plans for the World T20.
