Has Pakistan cricket team talisman Babar Azam lost a bit of his power? Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting certainly thinks so! Babar Azam’s form, his position in the batting order and even his spot in the XI is under scrutiny after his 18-ball 15-run innings in Pakistan’s T20 World Cup opener against the Netherlands where Pakistan won with three balls to spare and with just three wickets in hand. “It just to me looks like he’s lost a bit of his power, his ball striking ability, like taking on that spinner on the way he did and not being able to even go close to clearing it,” Ponting said in a conversation with Ravi Shastri and Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review. “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,” Ponting continued. “The guy at the other end 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.” Netherlands’ Roelof van der Merwe celebrates the wicket of Pakistan’s Babar Azam, left, during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Netherlands and Pakistan in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena) Ponting mentioned how his view about Babar had changed after the opening game against the Dutch. “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. But Pakistan need the best version of Babar Azam if they’re going to go further in this tournament.” What position should Babar Azam play in? With Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha moving up the order to No 3, Babar dropped down to No 4. Ponting said that the Pakistan think tank should consider returning Babar to his more favoured No 3 position, to give him more chances to play in the powerplay to clear the field.Story continues below this ad “I would even think about batting him at No.3,” said Ponting. “I think the earlier he goes in to bat, 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.” Ponting then added: “Pakistan have got a big decision to make: whether Babar stays in or whether they leave him out.”
‘Babar Azam’s lost his power’: Ricky Ponting explains why Pakistan must consider bringing star batter up at No 3 position rather than No 4
