Cricket legends Ponting and Shastri are worried about Babar Azam’s slow T20 batting. According to him, slow innings like 15 runs in 18 balls put pressure on the team. He has advised Babar to play aggressively and move up the batting order.
London: Cricket legends Ricky Ponting and Ravi Shastri believe that the biggest headache for Pakistan in the 2026 T20 World Cup is the batting form of former captain Babar Azam. In the ICC review, both of them said that the slow innings of Babar, who scored 15 runs in 18 balls in the match against Netherlands, is spoiling the balance of the Pakistan team.
Babar will have to change his attitude: Ponting
Ponting said… “When you score 15 runs in 18 balls, you put pressure not only on yourself but also on the batsman standing at the other end. Babar should try to hit boundaries in the beginning itself, otherwise the momentum of the match is completely lost. It would be better to send Babar at number three instead of number four. Powerplay restrictions will help Babar to score.
Have to play without fear: Ravi Shastri
Ravi Shastri said that at this stage of his career, there is a lot of burden of expectations on Babar. Shastri clearly said, “It doesn’t matter if you get out in the first five balls, but Babar should try to find the boundary.” Shastri’s advice is that he has to change his old habit of taking time to settle down.
When Babar came to the crease against Netherlands, the team needed only 50 runs in 53 balls. But due to Babar’s slow innings the match dragged on till the last overs. Wasim Akram, sitting in the commentary box, also warned Babar to increase the speed, but to no avail. In the end, Faheem Ashraf’s brilliant batting led Pakistan to a difficult victory. The cricket world believes that if Babar Azam fails at number four, then Pakistan will have to think about explosive players like Fakhar Zaman sitting out of the team. It may be more beneficial for Pakistan to give a chance to Fakhar Zaman or young player Khawaja Nafi, who has a strike rate of more than 150, at number four.