Salman Butt Slams Ricky Ponting For Comparing Suryakumar Yadav With Ab De Villiers

Suryakumar Yadav has been enjoying a good patch of runs for India since his comeback from injury. He performed well in the series against Wes Indies and England. He also moved to the second spot in the T20I batting rankings for men. Even, former Australian great Ricky Ponting heaped high praises for him. He also compared him with the likes of the Protea great AB de Villiers.

However, this comparison did not go well with another former Pakistan player, Salman Butt. He came out on his YouTube channel and suggested Ponting for waiting a bit more before comparing him with a great like AB de Villiers.

“Maybe Ricky Ponting suffered a jet lag,” – Salman Butt

During a chat show of the Governing Body of Cricket, Ricky Ponting said: “Surya (Yadav) scores 360 degrees around the ground, a bit like an AB de Villiers did when he was in his actual prime. The lap shots, the late cuts, you know, the ramps over the keeper’s head. He can hit down the ground,”

In response to that, Salman Butt said that Ponting’s comparison of Suryakumar Yadav with AB de Villiers was a bit too much. He said: “Even Suryakumar would realize that the comparison was a bit too much. Suryakumar has just started playing international cricket. He is talented and has played some very good knocks. But straight to AB de Villiers? Ponting should have waited a bit more. Suryakumar is yet to play in big tournaments. The fact is nobody ever has played cricket like De Villiers. You can maybe compare him with Viv Richards,”

Butt also took a dig on the former Australia great sarcastically. “I don’t think any player like that has even picked up a bat in recent years. The impact has to be of that level that oppositions know that if you cannot dismiss him you cannot win the match or someone who possesses the skill of making an incredible turnaround in a game. I feel no one in even recent history has ever played like him. There is Root, Williamson, and Kohli as well who has been the world’s no.1 batsman and has scored incredible hundreds, and Rohit Sharma, as well. But you skip all these names and straightaway jump to De Villiers…maybe Ponting suffered a jet lag,” Salman Butt concluded.