Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has labelled Pakistani batsman and skipper Babar Azam a “classy player” and praised him for his “extraordinary batting skills”, Cricket Pakistan reported.
According to the details, Ricky Ponting while speaking during an interview said, “We have not seen the best of him [Babar Azam] yet. 20 odd Tests for an average of 35 – he is better than that. He averages 54 in one-day cricket at a strike-rate of about 90. He is a very, very classy player”.
He added, “He is a really exciting talent and probably the guy I am looking forward to seeing the most this summer. I have seen the Aussies a lot and I have seen a lot of the Kiwis, but I am really excited to see him”.
The former Australian skipper believes that Pakistan need to utilise Babar in a better way in the longer format, adding that Australia needs to be wary of him in the upcoming two-match Test series between the two sides.
After scoring back to back fifties in the recently concluded T20I series against Australia, Babar played a brisk 157-run knock in the four-day practice match against Australia A in Perth.
It remains to be seen whether the 25-year-old can perform well in the Test series against the hosts, starting from November 21 at Gabba, Brisbane.
