Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting shared his surprise at star Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav’s massive drop in form recently, and advised him to back his aggressive approach to be at his best of form for the 2026 T20 World Cup. However, he had a year to forget in 2025, scoring only 218 runs in 19 innings, which came at an average of 13.63 and a strike rate of 123.16 as well.

However, Ricky Ponting advised Suryakumar Yadav to back himself and take on the game as well.

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“That’s as big a surprise for me, just looking at his recent form. He’s been such a solid and consistent contributor for India in T20 cricket for a long time and just hasn’t been able to find it of late. He’s an interesting one because when I’ve seen him play his best, he’s taken six or eight or 10 balls to get going and then just lets it all go,” Ricky Ponting said on ICC Review.

“He plays all of his shots and backs himself and a bit like Travis Head where it almost looks like they don’t ever fear getting out. That’s what I’d say to him. I’d be saying, think about scoring runs, don’t think about getting out. Trust yourself, back yourself. You’re proven to be as good as anybody in the world in the T20 format and go and prove it to everybody once again,” Ponting further added.

However, Suryakumar Yadav will be seen in action next during the T20I series opener against New Zealand, slated for January 21 in Nagpur as well.