Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting applauded India batter Suryakumar Yadav and said that in terms of innovation and skill, he hasn’t seen a better player in the game than Yadav as well. Yadav has been in sublime form in T20 cricket over the last one year and he was named the ICC T20I Player of 2022 on Wednesday as well.
While speaking on the ICC Review, Ponting said, “I think innovation-wise, skill-wise, I haven’t seen a better player in the game.What it’s going to do as well, a lot of other players are going to try and do the things he’s doing and it’s going to add another level of skill to the T20 game all around the world. Someone said during the IPL this year there are going to be guys who are going to try and do exactly the same as what Surya’s doing, and that’s going to be great for the game.”
Ricky Ponting also praised the 360-degree play of Suryakumar Yadav and said some of his shots are incredible as well.
READ MORE: ‘Could have gone deeper’ – Shubman Gill on his knock
“He’s probably doing it better than anyone’s ever done it right now. We talk about players that can score 360 degrees … some of the shots he’s hitting back behind the wicket-keeper and over fine leg are just remarkable. Five or six years ago, he started doing that a lot in the IPL. He was very good at flicking the ball over deep-backward square and getting the ball over fine-leg. Surya’s now been able to hit short balls on the way up and flick short balls over the keeper’s head and they’re going for six, not just for four,” again said Ricky Ponting.
However, Ponting also admitted that he didn’t think Suryakumar Yadav would reach the level he is on at the moment. He also praised the fitness of the talented batter as well.
ALSO READ: Viacom18 bags WIPL Media Rights for 5 years
“I didn’t think he’d get to the level he’s got to, to be quite honest. He’s worked as hard as he has – you can probably tell by his body shape. He’s probably fitter than he’s ever been, being around the Indian set up with the likes of [Virat] Kohli and Shreyas Iyer and these guys, who are exceptionally fit young guys.To have those guys leading the way for him, he’s turned into an incredibly good player,” concluded Ricky Ponting.
