Babar Azam has been reinstated as Pakistan captain ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. The country’s best batsman has resigned from the captaincy in all formats after Pakistan failed to reach the knockout stages of the 2023 ODI World Cup. However, less than a year later, Babar finds himself in a arduous situation, once again carrying the expectations of 23 million people on his shoulders. And this time could be more fruitful, believes Ricky Ponting, who is one of the most successful captains in the history of cricket.
In an interview with ICC, Ponting talked about the nuances of being a captain, saying that the role does not always suit the best players.
“The captain is better with some players than others,” Ponting said. He emphasized that captains must look not only at their own results, but also focus on improving the entire team.
“What makes some of the best players so good is how focused they are on what they need to do to get better and be the best and find a way to get better every day ” Ponting said.
“But captains can’t do it. You have to divide what you do into parts, take care of your game and take care of all the players around you,” emphasized the captain, who won the ODI World Cup in 2003 and 2007.
Ponting expressed that he felt Babar may have fallen victim to this during his first term.
“Babar, when he started, I felt like his stats dropped because of it,” he said.
Ponting believes that Babar could have learned from his first experience as captain, which could pave the way for success in his second term, starting with the T20 World Cup in 2024.
Pakistan was not in the best of form before the tournament. However, with India waiting for them on June 9, Babar perhaps has no better chance to prove that the Pakistan Cricket Board has made the right choice by backing him once again.
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