Ricky Ponting: “So I think Babar’s still got a little bit of improvement to come, which is a pretty scary thought with what he’s been able to do, pretty much across all three formats over the last three, four years”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting admitted he is scared to think how much better Pakistan batting maestro Babar Azam could become.
The Pakistan skipper is already one of the best in the world, but Ponting feels that he still has some room for improvement.
Should he take the time to get increasingly better, there is no telling how unstoppable the 28-year-old will be in the future.
“So I think Babar’s still got a little bit of improvement to come, which is a pretty scary thought with what he’s been able to do, pretty much across all three formats over the last three, four years,” Ponting said while speaking on The ICC Review.
Azam was recently in action in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he captained the Peshawar Zalmi and scored 522 runs in 11 matches, which included a hundred and five half-centuries, at an average of 52.20 and a strike-rate of 145.40.
He was rested for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah, which the men in green lost 2-1.
He will now captain Pakistan in their five T20Is and five ODIs against New Zealand, which starts on April 14.
Pakistan squad for T20I series against New Zealand: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Zaman Khan
Pakistan squad for ODI series against New Zealand: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Ihsanullah, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood and Usama Mir