The Legendary Australian Batter and Former Captain praised Surya Kumar Yadav, he compared him with Cricket Legend Star Batter from South Africa Ab De Villiers.
Ricky Ponting said Surya Kumar Yadav has a 360-degree game like Ab De Villiers.
He also said Surya Kumar Yadav should bat at No.4 Position for India.
“Surya (Yadav) scores 360 degrees around the ground, a bit like 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 said on the latest episode of The ICC Review.
“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.”
Surya Kumar Yadav is currently World’s Second Ranked T20I batter in ICC Rankings.
He scored 672 Runs in 23 T20 Innings with and Average of 37.33 and Strike Rate of 175.45.
“He’s a very, very exciting player and also I’m sure someone that’s going to find himself in their team, not just their squad,” Ponting, who has seen Yadav up close in his early years at Mumbai Indians, said.
“I think you’d find him in their team for the T20 World Cup. And if he’s in that team, then I think all the fans in Australia are going to see a very, very good player.
“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.”
When asked about Surya Position in the Team, Ricky Ponting said he should bat in Top four for India.
“It’s got to be in the top four, I think. I said stick with him (Virat Kohli) in his traditional spot. That has been number three,” Ponting, a two-time World Cup-winning captain, said.
“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. Also 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: “I think in the top four is, well, actually I’ll go out on a limb; I don’t want him to open. Also I think number four is his best spot.”
