Ricky Ponting Hits Bullseye As He Dissects Suryakumar Yadav's Captaincy Amid Form Issues
Ricky Ponting praised Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy in the T20 World Cup, highlighting his leadership despite not batting at his best.
One of the greatest captains the game of cricket has seen, Ricky Ponting, remains one of the most respected figures in the sport. Over the years, Ponting not only broke records as a batter for Australia but also achieved remarkable success as a leader, accomplishments that will remain difficult to match in the coming decades. Speaking about India's Suryakumar Yadav and his captaincy in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, Ponting hit the bullseye as he lauded him for guiding the team to the coveted trophy in style.
Drawing from his own experience of leading teams in ICC events, Ponting emphasised that captaincy is often more about what one does off the field than on it.
"It's a lot more about what they do off the field-the things people don't see and how they interact with their players," Ponting explained on the ICC Review. "He didn't have a great tournament himself as a player, but still he's standing at the end holding up a World Cup trophy."
Suryakumar wasn't at his best with the bat during the T20 World Cup, yet his decision-making as captain drew little criticism. Ponting believes this highlights his leadership credentials, as guiding a team becomes far more challenging when one is not in peak personal form.
"I know as a former captain, when you're not batting at your absolute best, captaincy can become really difficult. And when you are batting well, captaincy can feel much easier," said Ponting. Despite the tricky circumstances, Yadav came through with flying colours.
"It would have been really interesting to see how Surya interacted with Abhishek (Sharma) and Sanju (Samson) over the last few weeks," Ponting added. "That's where the real stories of true leadership will emerge."
"You don't have to worry much about the established players-it's more about the guys on the fringe and the younger ones, who go up and down with their emotions and struggle with form. They're the ones you have to spend the most time with," Ponting explained.
India Cricket Team