NEW DELHI: Major tournaments often reveal the finer aspects of leadership and former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has noticed a lot in the way India have navigated their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign under skipper Suryakumar Yadav.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!India entered the tournament as favourites, carrying high expectations while also dealing with form issues in the team. The captain himself endured a tough campaign with the bat. Apart from a life-saving knock of 84* off 49 balls in the opener against USA, Yadav scored 158 runs in the remaining eight innings. Despite this, he led the team to the top in the most important moments.
Suryakumar Yadav made a spectacular comeback after India’s victory in the T20 World Cup
Ponting believes the true measure of captaincy often lies behind closed doors.“It’s about a lot more than what they do off the field, the things that people don’t see and how they communicate with their players,” Ponting told the ICC website.The Australian great also pointed out that leading a team becomes even more difficult when a captain’s personal form dips, something Yadav experienced during the tournament.“He didn’t have a great time as a player himself, but he’s still standing at the end with the World Cup trophy,” Ponting noted. “As a former captain, I know that when you’re not batting at your best, captaincy can be really difficult. And when you’re batting well, captaincy can be really easy.”Ponting also highlighted how Yadav managed players under pressure, especially those who were struggling with form and confidence.“It would be really interesting to see how Surya interacted with Abhishek (Sharma) and Sanju (Samson) over the last few weeks. That’s where real stories of real leadership will come out,” he added.Abhishek Sharma, the ICC’s number 1 T20I batsman, had a turbulent run during the tournament. He registered three consecutive ducks, followed by low scores of 15, 10 and 9, and managed just one fifty before the final over. However, he found his form again on the tournament’s biggest stage, smashing 52 off 21 balls and scoring the fastest fifty of the 2026 edition in just 18 deliveries.“You don’t have to worry about staples, it’s more the guys on the fringes and the younger guys going up and down with their emotions and struggling with their form that you have to spend the most time with,” he noted.A crucial tournament decision came at the top of the order as Sanju Samson got a fresh boost. His first opportunity came early in the campaign as cover for Sharma, but he was dropped again before being recalled for the crucial match against Zimbabwe. Samson seized the opportunity and turned it into a dominant run.A stupendous 97* in a virtual knockout against West Indies ignited his wave. He followed it up with scores of 89 (42) in the semi-final against England and 89 (46) in the final against New Zealand. In just five innings, Samson amassed 321 runs – the most by an Indian in a single T20 World Cup.Ponting emphasized the importance of India’s faith in the wicketkeeper-batsman.“It was a big challenge for India to stick with him at the top. A big decision but it turned out really well in the end,” he said. “If you get the support of the coaching staff and the captain, then that’s all you need… Just a pat on the back or an arm around the shoulders to say, ‘We’re sticking with you, we believe in you.’“When you have the quality that Sanju has and the confidence of the captain and the coach behind you, then great things can happen,” he concluded.
