Babar Azam on praise from Ricky Ponting: “You get confidence when a legendary player gives you a compliment and you try to be better”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, said he always aims to get better after being praised by legendary Australia batsman Ricky Ponting.
Azam is one of the elite performers in the game right now as he has established himself as a consistent run-scorer in all three formats.
While he admitted to getting a lot of confidence from Ponting’s kind words, the 28-year-old has no desire to stop getting better and becoming an even more dominant batsman.
“You get confidence when a legendary player gives you a compliment and you try to be better,” he told ICC Digital. “When such a huge player passes positive comments, it adds to your confidence and you have it in your mind that such a huge player is talking good about you.
“Because these players have been through a similar stage so they know what mindset I have. They have been through similar scenarios and have knowledge of the game. So yes, I try to take these comments in a positive way and try to produce my best.”
Azam’s most recent appearance for Pakistan came during their five-match ODI series against New Zealand, where he once again led by example with the bat.
The Lahore-born batsman scored 276 runs, which included a century and two fifties, at an average of 55.20.