Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting says Babar Azam will soon become the world’s No. 1 Test batsman because he has all the qualities he wants.
Pakistan next face Australia in a three-match Test series starting in Rawalpindi on March 4. Babar Azam won the ICC Men’s ODI Cricket of the Year award in January, beating matches from Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, South African batsman Janneman Malan and Irish opener Paul Stirling.
“He (Babar Azam) used to be great in T20I cricket too, didn’t he? He’s been great with white ball cricket for the last four or five years. He’s the same as Shaheen. I’m on their tour When in Australia, you don’t see many of these guys out there, but when I saw Babar in the second innings against Australia in Brisbane, I saw him in the fast, bouncy Brisbane Some of the pitches played – front foot and back foot – against Hazelwood, Stark and Cummins – like, I’ve heard a lot about him and I’ve seen some of his sideballs, But this guy is the real deal,” Ponting said on the ICC’s Commentary Show.
“I think I said at the time, for this guy, the sky’s the limit. I feel like it’s only a matter of time before he becomes the world’s No. 1 Test batsman or definitely challenges it. He’s probably challenging for that position right now, If he plays a few more Test matches in the last few years, he might knock on the door for that,” he added.
Azam finished 2021 with 405 runs with a 67.50 average. His 158 at-bat was a loss, but a lesson in building an ODI inning. With 50 points on 72 balls, he put his foot on the gas in the second half, hitting just 139 balls for a career best.
“He’s a beautiful player, it’s that simple. I’m always looking for these young types of batsmen to see if they can play well on the back foot in Australia, especially through offside hits – it could be Joe Lu Tert hasn’t quite mastered the field and why he hasn’t achieved so much in Australia,” Pontin said.
“Babar did that and hit the front foot back to the ground as well. Those are just the markers and indicators I looked for when the tour batsmen came to Australia, and Babar ticked both boxes,” he added.
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