Ricky Ponting: “If Babar doesn’t have a great tournament, I don’t think they can win”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes that if Babar Azam struggles to score runs in the 2022 T20 World Cup, Pakistan likely don’t stand a chance of winning the tournament.
The Pakistan captain was in good form during the seven-match T20 series against England as he amassed 285 runs, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 57 and a strike-rate of 143.21.
As for the ongoing T20 tri-series against New Zealand and Bangladesh, he has made 122 runs in three matches, which includes a top score of 79 not out, at an average of 61 and a strike-rate of 120.79.
While the 27-year-old has been incredibly consistent throughout the year, Ponting noted that he will have to be at his very best in the T20 World Cup to ensure the men in green are a real threat.
“If Babar doesn’t have a great tournament, I don’t think they can win,” he told The ICC Review.
The 2022 T20 World Cup will get underway on October 16 in Australia.
Pakistan’s Squad for T20 Tri-Series against New Zealand and Bangladesh: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shan Masood, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Qadir, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Khushdil Shah, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jr
Pakistan’s 2022 T20 World Cup squad: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir
Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani
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