Ricky Ponting advised Babar Azam to take a break & regain form

Ricky Ponting – the former Australian skipper and Batsman – has advised Pakistan ace batsman Babar Azam to take a break to rediscover his form as Virat Kohli did earlier this year and in 2022.

According to the media reports, former Cricketer Ricky Ponting expressed his views while talking in the ICC Review podcast. He suggested Babar Azam adopt the Virat Kohli approach to remedy his troubles and rejuvenate his career by taking a break. He particularly advised for the Test form where Babar averaged 20.7 since 2023.

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Following a string of poor performances, the right-handed batter, along with two leading pacers, was granted “rest” for the final two Tests against England at home in October. In the first Test, the Englishmen easily trounced the Green Shirts. Pakistan went on to win the series 2-1.

Interestingly, Babar leads the ODI standings. He also demonstrated vigor in the first ODI against Australia earlier this week, scoring 37 runs. However, Ponting is more concerned with the former Pakistan captain’s performance in the longer format game.

Ponting said, “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. The break freshened Kohli up and sorted out the things in his favor, and so will it for Babar as well. 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, 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.”