Babar Azam, the former captain of Pakistan, was dropped from the Test team for the second and third matches against England. His recent 10 ODIs have seen him score 357 runs, which is worrying in his white-ball cricket form. Babar has made some impressive contributions in the shortest format, although the side did not go to the T20 World Cup Super Eights while he was captain.
Regarding Babar’s future in Test cricket, former player Ricky Ponting is worried. Like Virat Kohli in the past, the 49-year-old has urged that Babar should take a sabbatical and leave the game since he recognizes the challenges the cricketer would face returning to red-ball format. In his opinion, this could enable the cricket player to return to the game with renewed energy and his lost spark.
Looking at (Babar’s) figures, you’ll notice that they somewhat resemble the topics we discussed with Virat Kohli before.
In an interview with ICC, Ponting stated, “On occasion, and I believe Virat stated this on tape, he went away from the game for a while to rest and take care of some things that he needed to take care of.”
It’s possible that Babar needs this. Babar might want to take a break and not put in so much effort. We know he’s as good as anyone else around, so put the kit bag away for a bit, concentrate about something else, and then hopefully return refreshed. “Hopefully, that will be evident once more in the latter part of his career,” he continued.
Also Read: ‘Haven’t seen that same Virat since 2018 series’- Marnus Labuschagne reflects on Kohli’s Test slump
Notably, Babar hit 37 runs against Australia in the opening ODI. After losing the match by two wickets, Australia now leads the series 1-0.
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