Ricky Ponting: “Babar needs to get going early. He needs boundaries in his first few balls, otherwise the momentum of the game shifts every time he comes in. To me, it looks like he’s lost a bit of his power and ball-striking ability”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Australia captain Ricky Ponting admitted it appears as if Pakistan batsman Babar Azam has “lost a bit of his power and ball-striking ability” in T20Is.
Azam’s place in the shortest format has been a subject of ongoing debate, with questions raised over whether his style of play is suited to T20Is.
Ponting noted that if Pakistan continue to back the 31-year-old, he will need to “get going early” by scoring boundaries within his first few deliveries at the crease.
“Babar needs to get going early. He needs boundaries in his first few balls, otherwise the momentum of the game shifts every time he comes in. To me, it looks like he’s lost a bit of his power and ball-striking ability,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
Azam showed encouraging signs of evolution in his game during the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL) as he was the highest run-scorer with 588 runs in 11 matches for the Peshawar Zalmi, which included two centuries and three fifties, at an average of 73.50 and a strike-rate of 145.90.
Azam’s efforts with the bat helped the Zalmi win the tournament.
The Lahore native continued to impress in the two-Test series against Bangladesh, where he struck a total of 115 runs in the one Test he played, which included a top score of 68, at an average of 57.50.
He remained in good form in three ODIs Pakistan played against Australia, amassing 125 runs, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 41.66.
Pakistan’s next assignment is a tour of the West Indies, which comprises two Tests in Trinidad and Tobago from July 25 to August 6.