Ricky Ponting has offered a piece of advice to Pakistan for reviving star batter Babar Azam’s form at the T20 World Cup 2026.
The former Australian great isn’t entirely convinced with Babar, claiming he has lost his ‘ball striking ability’.
Expressing his thoughts on the latest episode of The ICC Review, Ponting said:
“It just looks like he’s lost a bit of his power, his ball striking ability, like taking that spinner on the way he did and not being able to even go close to clearing it.
“I defended him at the start of the tournament – a big name player in a big event – experience. You need (those players) in your side if you’re going to win.
“Pakistan need the best version of Babar Azam if they’re going to go further in this tournament.”
Babar batted at number four in Pakistan’s opening match against Netherlands.
The 31-year-old scored a scratchy 15 off 18 before losing his wicket to spinner Roelof van der Merwe.
Ponting suggests Pakistan should consider returning Babar to his preferred number three position to get the best out of him.
He added: “I would even think about batting him at number three.
“I think the earlier he goes in, if he can get some time inside the power play with the field up, I think that’s going to help him because if he has just lost that little bit of power, then you need everything in your favour.
“Having only two fielders out would help him. The guys that (are) batting after him have got plenty of power anyway. They can take advantage of those middle overs with the spinners on and the fielders out.
“They’ve got a big decision to make whether he stays in or whether they leave him out.”
Babar came into the World Cup on the back of an impressive 50-run knock against Australia in their third and final T20 match in Lahore.
But he failed to replicate his form against Netherlands in the tournament’s opener on Saturday.
The experienced batter struggled to hit boundaries and rotate the strike, stalling Pakistan’s momentum.
He eventually departed after scoring just 15 runs off 18 deliveries.
If it were not for Faheem Ashraf’s blistering 29-run knock, the Green Shirts would have lost the match in Colombo.
Babar’s underwhelming display means his place in the team is far from certain when Pakistan face the United States on Tuesday.
They have no margin for error in the group stage after deciding to boycott the match against India on February 15.
