Ricky Ponting: “Babar Azam and Shubman Gill are two recent batters who felt no problem in batting against the bounce on [an] Australia tour”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Australia captain Ricky Ponting has praised Pakistan batsman Babar Azam for his ability to bat against short-pitched bowling.
He noted that he has been particularly impressed with Azam’s performances whenever Pakistan tour Australia.
Considering how many batsmen struggle against the bounce that bowlers get in Australia, Ponting pointed out that this is what makes Azam an elite cricketer.
In addition to the 30-year-old from Lahore, the iconic Australian batsman also lauded India superstar Shubman Gill for the same thing.
“Babar Azam and Shubman Gill are two recent batters who felt no problem in batting against the bounce on [an] Australia tour,” Ponting was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Azam recently missed Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore, along with the T20I tour of Bangladesh and the T20I series against the West Indies.
He did end up taking part in the ODI series against the West Indies and scored 56 runs at an average of 18.66.
After their tour of the West Indies, Pakistan faced the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan in a T20I tri-series in Sharjah, which they won.
The men in green are now playing in the 2025 Asia Cup, which is being held in the UAE.
They started off their campaign in style as they crushed Oman by 93 runs.
Pakistan will now take on India on September 14 in Dubai.
Pakistan squad for UAE T20I tri-series and 2025 Asia Cup: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem
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