Ricky Ponting urges Babar Azam to follow Virat Kohli’s footsteps

07 November, 2024

Babar is going through a rough patch as the right-handed batter averages just 20.7 in Tests since 2023. His series of dismal performances eventually led to his, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah’s exclusion from the side for the remaining two Tests of the three-match series against England.

The right-handed batter, ranked first in the ODI Batting Rankings, however, managed to hold on to his spot in Pakistan’s white-ball sides, currently on a tour of Australia.

Playing his first ODI since the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, Babar only managed 37 before being cleaned up by Adam Zampa in the touring side’s gut-wrenching two-wicket defeat in the series opener against Australia on Monday.

However, legendary captain Ponting remained concerned regarding Babar’s dismal form in the longest format, insisting Pakistan should find a way to get their ace batter back into form.

“The biggest challenge is how they get Babar back into their side,” Ponting said in the ICC Review. “They've got to find a way to get Babar back into form and back into their [Test] team.”

Ponting then drew parallels between the rough patch of Babar to that of Kohli, who took a notable break in 2022, owing to his three-year century drought.

The break turned out to be beneficial for the Indian batter as he ended his long-going century drought before delivering stellar performances at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, the highlight of which was his unbeaten match-winning knock against arch-rivals Pakistan.

“You know, when you look at (Babar’s) numbers, it's been a bit like the stuff that we were talking about with Virat [Kohli] earlier on,” Ponting said. “Sometimes – and I think Virat was on record saying this – that little bit of a break that he had, he took himself away from the game for a while to freshen up and sort out some things that he needed to sort out.

“This might be exactly what Babar needs. Maybe Babar needs to get away for a while and stop trying too hard. Lock the kit bag away for a while, and think about something else and then hopefully come back recharged, because we know at his best he's as good as anyone going around. Hopefully we get to see that in the back half of his career again.”