Legendary players Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting break silence on Babar Azam’s ongoing poor performance. Take a look and find out the detailed story.
Published: February 9, 2026 1:22 PM IST
Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting address reasons behind Babar Azam’s poor form
Former legendary players Ricky Ponting and Ravi Shastri have dropped some insights and reality check about Babar Azam’s ongoing poor form. In the opening match, Pakistan defeated the Netherlands. But, the main concern is Babar’s poor performance as he only scored 15 runs off 18 balls. Ravi Shastri spokes about Babar Azam’s current situation. “When you are at that stage of your career, there’s baggage,” “There’s a weight of expectation. People expect you to go out there and deliver. Get out there (and) in your first five balls, I don’t care if you get out, but I want you to make an effort to hit a couple of boundaries. Choose your spot, get into good positions, anticipate what the bowler is doing. You will feel a lot better and things might change.” he added.Add India.com as a Preferred Source
‘You can’t give it that much time’: Ravi Shastri
However, Ravi Shastri also doubted that Babar Azam is still an starter for Pakistan. “There will be questions asked,” “He’s a quality player … we know he’s got the experience to adjust very quickly, but he has to do it quickly because (the middle overs are) a very crucial period of play. In T20 cricket, you can’t give it that much time unless the conditions are really in favor of the bowlers.” he added.Ricky Ponting reflects on Babar Azam’s poor batting against Netherlands
Ricky Ponting breaks silence on Babar Azam poor performance against the Netherlands. “If you’re 15 off 18 balls, you’re not just putting pressure on yourself, you’re putting pressure on the guy at the other end,” “The guy at the other end then knows that he’s got to be the one to take up the boundary scoring. Babar needs to hit boundaries early on. He needs to get off and going, he needs two boundaries in his first six balls, otherwise the whole momentum of the game is going to change every time he goes in.” he added. Ricky Ponting also raised questions about Babar’s batting at No.4 in the match against the Netherlands. “It just to me 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 events … 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.”Ricky Ponting suggests ideal batting position for Babar Azam
Ricky Ponting suggests a perfect batting order for Pakistan for Babar Azam’s form. “I would even think about batting him at No.3,” “I think the earlier he goes in, if he can get some time inside the Powerplay 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. So 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.”For all latest updates of T20 World Cup 2026 you can visit: https://www.india.com/icc-mens-t20-world-cup-2026/
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