NEW DELHI: Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has come up with a piece of advice for woefully out-of-form India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, urging him to believe in his ability and prove to the world what he is capable of.
"That's as big a surprise for me, just looking at his recent form. He's been such a solid and consistent contributor for India in T20 cricket for a long time and just hasn't been able to find it of late," Ponting said while speaking with host Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review.
"He's an interesting one because when I've seen him play his best, he's taken six or eight or ten balls to get going and then just lets it all go."
"He plays all of his shots and backs himself and a bit like Travis Head, where it almost looks like they don't ever fear getting out," he said.
Surya has struggled for runs, managing only 218 across 19 innings in 2025, and has been far from his usual explosive best, scoring at a relatively modest strike rate of 123.16.
Ponting said his advice to Suryakumar would be to concentrate on making runs rather than worrying about getting dismissed.
"That's what I'd say to him. I'd be saying, think about scoring runs, don't think about getting out. Trust yourself, back yourself. You're proven to be as good as anybody in the world in the T20 format and go and prove it to everybody once again," he said.
India will face New Zealand in a five-match T20I series, serving as Suryakumar Yadav's last opportunity to find form and build momentum ahead of the upcoming global tournament.
