Ricky Ponting: “Most batters come into their prime in the start of their early thirties”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Australia batsman Ricky Ponting has urged everyone to watch out for Pakistan captain Babar Azam when he is in his thirties.
Ponting’s warning comes as he feels the 28-year-old will be at his very best during those years as they usually are the peak period of a cricketer’s career.
Azam has been phenomenal in international cricket thus far, averaging 48.63 in Tests, 59.41 in ODIs and 42.25 in T20Is.
“Most batters come into their prime in the start of their early thirties,” Ponting said while speaking on The ICC Review.
In the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Azam finished as the second-highest run-scorer while captaining the Peshawar Zalmi.
He amassed 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.
Azam was recently rested for the national team’s three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Sharjah, which they lost 2-1.
He is now leading Pakistan in their home series against New Zealand and made scores of 9 and 101 not out in the first two T20Is.
The third match will be played on Monday in Lahore.
Pakistan squad for T20I series against New Zealand:Â 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:Â 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