Suryakumar Yadav is a bit like AB de Villiers, number four is his best spot: Ricky Ponting

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting heaped praises on India’s top-ranked batter in T20Is Suryakumar Yadav and even raised comparisons with former South African batter AB de Villiers. Yadav has been excellent this year in the T20I format especially and in 12 matches, he has scored 428 runs at an average of 38.90 with an impressive strike rate of 189.38.

He has scored two half centuries and one splendid century this year, advancing to the second place in the ICC T20I rankings for batters, only behind Pakistan’s Babar Azam. The 31-year-old has played different roles from opening the innings to finishing the innings and put up impactful performances.

Suryakumar Yadav is a good player of fast and spin bowling: Ricky Ponting

Ponting mentioned the way Yadav plays a lot of 360-degree shots, similar to AB de Villiers and noted the variety of shots the Mumbaikar possesses. He went to note the strengths of Yadav on the leg side and felt that fast bowling or spin is not going to bother him much. He added that the best position for Yadav to bat is at number four given his destructiveness in the final overs although he can open if needed.

“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. 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. He’s a very, very exciting player and I’m sure someone that’s going to find himself in their team, not just their squad,” Ponting was quoted as saying by TOI.

“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, 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. I think number four is his best spot,” he added.