Dubai: Suryakumar Yadav has received a lot of praise from the great Ricky Ponting, who compared the batsman to AB de Villiers, saying that the Indian has 360-degree play like a South African genius.
Ponting suggested that Yadav should bat at number four in the Indian line-up.
“Surya (Yadav) scores 360 degrees around the field, a bit like AB de Villiers when he was in his true prime. Lap shots, late cuts, you know, ramps over the keeper’s head. He can hit the ground,” Ponting said in the latest episode of ICC Review.
“He hits really well on the leg side, flicks particularly well into the deep backward section, and he’s a good player of fast bowling and a good player of spin bowling.”
The 31-year-old Yadav has scored 672 runs in 23 T20 matches at an average of 37.33 and a strike rate of 175.45 and is now second only to Pakistan captain Babar Azam in the ICC T20 Batsman Rankings.
Ponting, who has watched Yadav closely in his early years at Mumbai Indians, said, “He is a very exciting player and I am sure there is someone who will find himself in his team and not just in his team. “
“I think you will find him in your team for T20s” World cup. And if he’s in that team, I think all the fans in Australia will get to see a really good player.
“He is quite a confident person. He supports himself and he is never going to shy away from any challenge or any situation that may arise in the game. I think he thinks he can win that situation and So go ahead and win the game for your team.
Asked whether Yadav would make India’s best XI, the former Australian captain said he “played better than anyone else in the Indian team in the last few series” and should be kept at the top of the order.
“I think it should be in the top four. I told him (Virat Kohli) to stay in his traditional spot, which has been at number three,” said two-time World Cup winning captain Ponting.
“For Sun, it’s one, two or four. I think he can open, but I think he’s probably, you know, if you can maybe keep him off the new ball, he’s Let the middle control the middle of the game, outside the powerplay, and if he’s in at the end, you know what can happen.”
Yadav’s strike rate rose to 258.82 in the death overs in T20Is – scoring 88 runs in 34 balls, 15 of which were going for boundaries.
Ponting said: “I think in the top four, actually, I’ll go out on a limb: I don’t want him to open. I think number four is his best.”
Australia will host the T20 World Cup in October-November.
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