Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting shared his views on the growth of Suryakumar Yadav in white-ball cricket as he feels it was his time at Kolkata Knight Riders where his career started to turn around. Suryakumar is currently ranked at number 2 in ICC T20I batting charts and has become an undisputed starter in India’s XI for the shortest form. With his ability to play 360-degree, Suryakumar has added a much-needed boost to the Indian middle-order.
In recent times, Surya has played several impactful knocks for India with the bat and he has also shown the versatility to bat up in the batting order.
Also Read: Axar Patel Leapfrogs 15 Positions To Reach Top 20; Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya Among Gains In Latest ICC T20I Rankings
Ponting talked about Suryakumar’s journey and revealed that before joining KKR, he didn’t get many chances in the Mumbai Indians team but joining the two-time IPL champions helped him move ahead in his career.
“When I was in Mumbai, he was an 18-19-year-old kid, a young man. He was in our squad not quite getting a game. The year after I left, he was traded to Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) where his career started to turn around," Ponting was quoted as saying in the ICC Review.
The legendary Aussie skipper said that the chances in KKR helped Suryakumar in making a name for himself as Mumbai signed him back and the middle-order didn’t disappoint them. He has turned out to be their key player with the bat in recent times who provides the right balance to their line-up.
Also Read: Jhulan Goswami ‘Not Hundred Percent Aware’ If Deepti Sharma Had Warned Charle Dean: ‘Was Standing Quite Far’
“He got a bit of an opportunity in the middle order and then MI bought him back in the auction and has been a match-winning player for them for five or six seasons now, to the point that he is one of their retained players," he stated.
Ponting said that there was never a question about the talent Suryakumar possesses and the talented batter also kept learning about himself with time which worked well in his favour to thrive in international cricket.
“Anyone who has seen him from a young age, knew that he had an abundance of talent. The more he has played, the more he has learned about himself, the more different situations he has found himself in a game, he has found a way to not just survive, but thrive in the IPL at international level," Ponting added.
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here
Comments
0 comment