Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting has praised Indian cricketer Suryakumar Yadav, calling him the “greatest innovator” in the T20 format of the game. In an interview with the ICC, Ponting stated that Suryakumar’s style of play could inspire a new breed of players to emulate his style and take T20 cricket to “another level” globally.
Suryakumar was recently named the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year after he became only the second batter in the world to score 1000-plus runs in a calendar year in the shortest format of the game. In 2022, Surya scored two centuries and nine half-tons on way to amassing 1,164 runs, which was only second behind Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan who leads the charts with 1,326 runs in 2021.
Ponting also compared Suryakumar’s style of batting with that of South African white-ball specialist AB de Villiers and former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist. He stated that Suryakumar is “probably doing it better than anyone’s ever done it right now,” referring to his ability to score in 360 degrees and hit remarkable shots that go back behind the wicket-keeper and over fine leg.
Suryakumar’s 1,100-plus runs last year came in 31 T20Is at an astonishing strike rate of 187.43 and an average of 46.56, which also propelled him to the top of the ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings. Ponting also mentioned that Suryakumar’s innovative style of batting was first noticed in the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he was able to flick the ball over the deep-backward square and get the ball over fine-leg. Now, he has been able to hit short balls on the way up and flick short balls over the keeper’s head for sixes instead of just fours.
According to Ponting, Suryakumar’s success can be attributed to his hard work and strenuous regimen. He stated that Suryakumar’s body shape is a testament to the hard work he’s put in and that being around the Indian setup with players like Kohli and Shreyas Iyer has resulted in his exceptional fitness.
