Ponting Analyzes Suryakumar Yadav’s Captaincy After India’s T20 World Cup Win

Ricky Ponting praised the captaincy skills of Suryakumar Yadav, saying he backed every player and took the right decisions to win the T20 World Cup trophy for India. Speaking to the ICC review, Ponting said that Suryakumar himself didn’t have a great time with the bat, but his captaincy was spot on throughout the tournament.

“It's about a lot more about what they do off the field, the things that people don't see and how they interact with their players.” said Ricky Ponting while speaking to the ICC Review.

“He didn’t have a great time himself as a player, but still he’s standing at the end holding up a World Cup trophy. 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 become really easy.” added Ricky Ponting.

The former Australian captain also praised Suryakumar’s ability to manage out-of-form players, saying he gave confidence to everyone who was struggling to score runs.

“It would have been really interesting to see how Surya has interacted with Abhishek (Sharam) and Sanju (Samson) over the last few weeks. That’s where the real stories will come out on true leadership.” said Ricky Ponting.

“You don't have to worry about the staples, it's more the guys on the fringe and the younger guys going up and down with their emotions and battling with their form, the ones you have to spend the most time with.” added Ricky Ponting.

He then applauded the management’s decision to stick with Sanju Samson, saying they backed him at a time when he needed their support badly.

“For India to stick with him at the top there, that was a big call to make. A big decision, but one that worked out really well in the end. If you get the backing of the coaching staff and the captain, then that's all you need… Just a pat on the back or an arm around the shoulder to say, ‘we're sticking with you, we believe in you.’” said Ricky Ponting.