"Don't think of....": Ponting's advice to out-of-form Suryakumar to T20 World Cup

Suryakumar, once ruling the T20 cricket with his 360-degree hitting and relentless consistency, experienced a sharp dip in form last year, and the batter looked like a shell of his usual dominant self last year. In 2025, while Surya did not lack as a leader, he scored just 218 runs in 19 innings at an average of 13.62, with a modest strike rate of 123.16.

Speaking of Surya's form in the latest episode of ICC Review, Ponting said, "That is as big a surprise for me, just looking at his recent form. He is 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."

"He is an interesting one because when I have seen him play his best, he has taken six or eight or 10 balls to get going and then just lets it all go," said Ponting.

The former Australian captain, however, backed Yadav to return to his best and rediscover the fearless brand of cricket he is renowned for.

"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," Ponting noted.

"That's what I would say to him. I would be saying, think about scoring runs, do not think about getting out."

"Trust yourself, back yourself. You are proven to be as good as anybody in the world in the T20 format and go and prove it to everybody once again," he concluded.

India is placed in Group A alongside Namibia, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and the United States and will start its campaign against the USA on February 7 in Mumbai.

India's squad for T20 World Cup 2026 and New Zealand T20I series: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-capt), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wk). (ANI)