Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav is best suited in the middle order. The Indian team management recently tried Suryakumar in the top order alongside skipper Rohit Sharma in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against the West Indies.
Suryakumar looked in place at the top and made some significant contributions. The right-handed batter also scored a stunning century in the T20Is against England. His recent performances saw him jump to the No.2 spot in the latest ICC T20I Rankings for batters after Pakistan’s Babar Azam.
Proving his mettle over the course of the last 12 months, the Mumbai-born batter is a certainty in India’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad later this year. In the latest edition of the ICC Review, Ricky Ponting stated that Suryakumar Yadav is best suited in the middle order.
“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 said.Â
“I think in the top four is, well, actually I’ll go out on a limb: I don’t want him to open. I think number four is his best spot,” he added.Â
Suryakumar Yadav will next be seen in action in the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 scheduled to take place later this month in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Ricky Ponting compares Suryakumar Yadav to AB de Villiers
Suryakumar Yadav’s ability to hit all around the park has drawn comparisons with former South African captain AB de Villiers. The Indian batter’s wide array of shots makes it difficult for the captain to set fields and for the bowlers to decide on their areas.
Comparing him to legendary South African batter AB de Villiers, Ricky Ponting said, “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.”
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