Former Australian spinner Ricky Ponting spoke about the impact of X-factor player Glenn Maxwell while shedding light on his comeback to Tests. He said that players like him, along with Suryakumar Yadav, are 360-degree complete players and they should be allowed to play the way they are doing.

Glenn Maxwell and Suryakumar Yadav are undoubtedly two of the most talented players in world cricket. They are considered the beasts of T20 for what they have done in the format, helping the team win matches from impossible positions.

Glenn Maxwell and Suryakumar Yadav are undoubtedly the best all-rounders in world cricket. The duo has been sensational with the bat and the kind of shots they generate have made many go gaga over the head. Their ability to score runs all over the field sets them apart from others.

While Suryakumar Yadav has had a huge impact in T20s, Glenn Maxwell has been equally successful in ODIs. Not only that, he has his moments in Tests as well, as his game-changing ability makes him a dangerous player in the longest format of the game.

Ricky Ponting, speaking about the impact of X-factor players like Glenn Maxwell, stressed that coaches need to be careful about the way they talk to them. Speaking to Cricbuzz on the issue, he explained:

“Players who have that extraordinary talent don’t like to talk too much about cricket. You have to be careful how you phrase things when you talk to them. Because players who have that kind of talent, you don’t want to mess with them.

“You don’t want something you said to stick in their mind and prevent that X-factor from happening. So it’s a lot easier for me to coach the guys that have less talent and less ability because I think I can help them and give them things to think about that can make them better.”

Glenn Maxwell and Suryakumar are probably the most complete 360-degree players in the modern game – Ricky Ponting

Ricky Ponting put Travis Head in the same category and pointed out that he did not want to get carried away by his thoughts and made a bold claim by saying that Glenn Maxwell and Suryakumar Yadav are the best 360-degree players today. He added:

“And Travis is the same way now. I mentioned in one of our postgame talks the other night that there’s a lot of things I could talk to Travis about regarding his hitting, but I won’t because everything’s fine. It’s going so well that I don’t need to get in his head. I don’t want to be that little voice sitting on his shoulder. I want him to play with freedom and keep doing what he’s doing and Maxwell was kind of the same way.

“It’s difficult to analyse him. Now that AB de Villiers and those guys are gone, Glenn and Suryakumar are probably the most complete 360-degree players in the modern game. And with what he can bring to the table in other dimensions of his cricket – his fielding and his ball handling – he’s a very, very good player,” he concluded.