Cricket News: Ricky Ponting backs Suryakumar Yadav for ODI World Cup spot

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has backed the inclusion of out-of-form Suryakumar Yadav in India's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 roster. If Ponting were an Indian selection, he would undoubtedly include the right-hander among other players.

India's top order is set to consist of skipper Rohit Sharma, budding opener Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli. Meanwhile, a few spots in their top six are still available for the 50-over World Cup, which begins in October in India.

In the recent ODI series against Australia, India's middle order failed to deliver a batting performance.

Suryakumar in particular struggled, setting an unwelcome record by being removed for golden ducks in three successive innings. Notably, India dropped the three-match series at home 2-1.

Since his previous ODI half-century in February 2022, Suryakumar has scored 172 ODI runs at an average of 12.28. Ponting, on the other hand, has asked India to support the Mumbai batter, noting that everyone goes through a dry spell at some point in their career.

He went on to explain that he had never seen someone get three first-ball ducks in a row, but that every international player experiences ups and downs.

"Yeah, absolutely. Everyone in their career goes through something like that. I mean, I'm not sure I have seen it before where someone's got three first-ball ducks in a row in an entire series. But look, we've all been there. You have your ups and downs as international players,"

Ponting told host Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review.

The veteran cricketer went on to praise Suryakumar for his ability to win big games, citing his recent excellent performance in the T20 format. He believes India should remain with him because he is the type of player who can help them win a World Cup. He also compared India's batter to Andrew Symonds, describing him as a match-winner.

"His previous 12 or 18 months have been absolutely outstanding. And everyone around the world knows what Surya can do in white-ball cricket. I feel they should stick with him because he's the sort of player that can win you a World Cup,"

Ponting said.

"He might be a little bit inconsistent but he's the sort of guy that in big moments can win you games. A bit like the late great Andrew Symonds did for Australia. So that's definitely the way that I'd look at it for India. I wouldn't be playing safe. I'd be going with match-winning players and I think he's a match-winner,"

he added.

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