Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting is confident batter Suryakumar Yadav will be in the India side for the ICC T20 World Cup in October this year, adding that the 31-year-old was not the one to “step down” from a challenge whatever the situation.
The Australian great has seen Yadav from close in his early years in Mumbai during the Indian Premier League (IPL), and feels the Indian selectors should include the middle-order batter in the playing XI for the ICC T20 World Cup Down Under.”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 said on The ICC Review.”I think you’d find him in their team for the T20 World Cup. And if he’s in that team, then I think all the fans in Australia are going to see a very, very good player. He’s quite a confident person. He backs himself and he’s never going to step down from a challenge or any situation that arises in a game.
I feel he thinks he can win that situation and therefore go on and win the game for his team.”Ponting also added that Yadav should bat at No.4 for India in T20Is and has compared the star cricketer with South Africa’s great AB de Villiers. Yadav recently opened with Rohit Sharma in the away T20I series against the West Indies and met with huge success, including a match-winning 76 off 44 deliveries which helped the visitors win the third game and go 2-1 up in the five-match series.
