Ricky Ponting tells Babar Azam to ‘lock the kitbag away’, follow Virat Kohli’s footsteps to regain form

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting believes Babar Azam can draw inspiration from Virat Kohli in his path forward to rejuvenate his Test form. With Pakistan suffering their third consecutive home Test defeat against England in Multan last month, the decision to rest Babar came amid his prolonged struggle, averaging only 20.7 in the format since 2023.

Babar Azam (L) and Virat Kohli during the India vs Pakistan T20 World Cup match in 2021.

The move by Pakistan’s selection panel, which also sidelined key pacers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, marked a significant turning point as the team looked to refocus ahead of a packed international schedule. Ponting referred to Virat Kohli’s own struggles with form during the 2020/21 season, and recounted how the Team India star took a break from the game, eventually making a strong comeback later.

“The biggest challenge is how they get Babar back into their side,” Ponting said in the ICC Review.

“They’ve got to find a way to get Babar back into form and back into their [Test] team.”

“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,” Ponting said. “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.”

Babar made a comeback to the national team during the first ODI against Australia earlier this week, where he scored 37.

Rizwan leads Pakistan

Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan’s appointment as Pakistan’s new white-ball captain has infused fresh leadership into the setup. Ponting stated that he is excited to watch Pakistan under Rizwan’s leadership, insisting that his aggression could play a key role in his captaincy.

“He’s the sort of player that I love watching,” said Ponting. “Aggressive player that takes the game on, and wears his heart on his sleeve a little bit.

“I reckon you can see he gets quite emotional out on the field, out on the ground as well, which I think is a good thing. It tends to show that you really care about what you’re doing and what your team’s trying to achieve.”