Surya was dismissed for three successive golden ducks in the recently held ODI series against Australia.
The dashing right-hander was dismissed for golden ducks in all the games of the 50-over series, which Australia won 2-1. While Surya was trapped plumb in front of the wicket by left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc in the first two ODIs, left-arm spinner Ashton Agar cleaned him up with a quick delivery in the series decider.
With an unimpressive start to his ODI career, Yadav’s most recent failure has put him under the scanner yet again.
However, Australian legend Ricky Ponting feels Suryakumar Yadav has the ability to “win” the ODI World Cup and the Indian selectors should stick to him.
“Everyone around the world knows what Surya can do in white-ball cricket,” Ponting said on ICC Review.
“His previous 12 or 18 months have been absolutely outstanding. I feel they should stick with him because he’s the sort of player that can win you a World Cup,” he added.
In 23 ODIs so far, Suryakumar has scored 433 runs at an average of 24.06 with two fifties. While the numbers are far from impressive, Ponting backed the Indian batter by saying that he could do what the late Andrew Symonds did in Australia’s triumphant 2003 and 2007 World Cup winning campaigns.
“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,” Ponting said.
“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.”
The former Australia skipper believes the number five spot is ideal for Suryakumar Yadav.
“I’m a big believer in giving your best batter as much time as you can in all formats of the game. Because if you keep them down the order, quite often you don’t get to use your best players and that’s the last thing you want.
“So I think the No 5 slot’s perfect for him and he’s just got to grow into that role there.”