Ricky Ponting Bats for Suryakumar Yadav’s Inclusion in the World Cup Squad

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting reckons that the Indian team management should give a long run to Suryakumar Yadav in the ODI format in the buildup to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, scheduled to take place in India later this year.

The number one ranked T20I batter in the World- Suryakumar Yadav has been a force to reckon with in T20I cricket, and his numbers are nothing but sensational in the 20-over format. He is highly regarded in the shortest version of the game. Despite scoring a lot of runs in T20I, Suryakumar is yet to create a similar sort of impact in the 50-over format. The stylish right-handed batter hasn’t been able to replicate his brilliance in ODIs. Many cricket pundits have started questioning his spot in the one-day team, especially after his forgettable run in the last ODI series at home against Australia.

Suryakumar had a forgettable run in the three-match ODI series against Australia. He claimed an unwanted record of recording the third consecutive golden ducks in the series. It is pertinent to note that he has scored just 166 runs in his last 14 ODI innings with the highest score being 34 not out.

Ricky Ponting Backs ‘Big Match’ Suryakumar

During the recent ICC Review show, Ricky Ponting, the multiple-time World Cup winner, talked about Suryakumar Yadav and explained his importance in limited-overs cricket and how he can be a match-winner with the bat in hand. The Australian legend compared the Mumbai-based batter with the late Andrew Symonds.

“He (Suryakumar Yadav) might be a little bit inconsistent but he is the sort of guy that in big moments can win you something, a bit like, you know, the late great Andrew Symonds did for Australia. When you invest in these guys, you give them an opportunity, if you give them a pretty clear direction, give some clarity around the role that you want them to play, they have got so much talent that they can single-handedly win you games, so that’s definitely the way I look at it for India,” Ricky Ponting said on the ICC Review.

This year is important for all the Test-playing nations as the 50-over World Cup will be played this year. The Indian team management has lots of contenders fighting for the same spot. While the top order is more so fixed, the middle-order spots are still vacant. Like many others, Suryakumar is also battling for the number four spot. He received chances in the Australia series as Shreyas Iyer, India’s first-choice number-four batter in ODIs, missed out due to a back injury. Iyer’s numbers are far better than Suryakumar or any other Indian batter at number four in ODIs, scoring 1,631 runs at an average of 46.31 and a strike rate of 96.51.