Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting feels Suryakumar Yadav must bat for India at no. 4 in T20Is, especially with T20 World Cup set to be held later this year. Suryakumar has been in fine form with the bat, which has seen him rise to the second spot in the ICC men's T20I ratings. He scored 135 runs in four T20I during the recently-concluded tour of the West Indies. Despite suggesting that Suryakumar can open the batting for India, the legendary Australia batter feels that the no. 4 spot is best for the Mumbai batter as he can control things in the middle for the team.
"It's got to be in the top four, I think. I said stick with him (Virat Kohli) in his traditional spot, which has been number three. 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 in the top four is, well, actually I'll go out on a limb: I don't want him to open. I think number four is his best spot," Ponting said on ICC review.
Ponting further praised Suryakumar, saying that the he never backs down from a challenge, which makes him a match-winner.
"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. 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," he said.