Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting has weighed in on the struggles of Pakistan superstar Babar Azam, who has been struggling to find consistency in Test cricket. Babar, a powerful batter in white-ball cricket, has had a difficult time translating that form into the longest format. His recent omission from Pakistan’s squad for the final two Tests against England came after a series of underwhelming performances, with his average dipping to a concerning 20.7 since 2023.
“The biggest challenge is how they get Babar back into their side. They've got to find a way to get Babar back into form and back into their [Test] team,” Ponting said in the ICC Review.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, as Ponting believes that Babar can regain his form by drawing inspiration from Indian batting legend Virat Kohli, who endured his own struggles before returning to peak form. Kohli took a break in 2022 after facing a challenging period with the bat. Ponting highlighted as to how a break helped Kohli regain his form.
“You know, when you look at (Babar’s) numbers, it's been a bit like the stuff that we were talking about with Virat [Kohli] earlier on. Sometimes – and I think Virat was on record saying this – that little bit of a break that he had, he took himself away from the game for a while to freshen up and sort out some things that he needed to sort out.”
“This might be exactly what Babar needs. Maybe Babar needs to get away for a while and stop trying too hard. Lock the kit bag away for a while, and think about something else and then hopefully come back recharged, because we know at his best he's as good as anyone going around. Hopefully we get to see that in the back half of his career again.”