“Everyone knows what Surya [Suryakumar] can do in cue ball cricket. They should stay with him, I think,” Ponting told the ICC review. “Because I think he is the type of player who can win you a World Cup.
“He might be a little inconsistent, but he’s the kind of guy that in big moments can win you something,” Ponting said. “A bit like the late great Andrew Symonds did for Australia.
“When you invest in these guys, give them a chance, give them a pretty clear direction and get some clarity on the role you want them to play, they’re so talented that they can win your games on their own.” .
“That is definitely the way I would see it for India. I would not be playing it safe, I would go with match-winning players and I think he is a match-winner,” he said.
Suryakumar, in 21 ODI innings, has scored 433 runs at an average of 24.05 with two half centuries.
Ponting chose the number 5 spot as the best option for Suryakumar.
“I think he was only hitting 5 anyway, and you wouldn’t want him much lower than that, especially with Hardik [Pandya], [Ravindra] Jadeja and Axar [Patel] and all those guys there,” Ponting said. “I’m a big believer in giving your best hitter all the time you can in every format of the game.
“Because if you keep them down the order often enough, sometimes you can’t use your best players and that’s the last thing you want. So I think the No. 5 spot is perfect for him and he just needs to become that role.” .