T20 World Cup 2024: Ricky Ponting throws weight behind Babar Azam as captain

Former Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting has thrown his weight behind Babar Azam to lead the Pakistan team in the T20 World Cup, saying the Green Shirts can perform well in the mega sporting event.

Ponting said Azam is a good captain who can help Pakistan perform well in the T20 World Cup.

“Captaincy just sits well with some people and it doesn't sit well with others,” Ponting told The ICC Review.

“We've seen it through the years that some of the best players that have ever played the game have not necessarily made the best captains and the thing that makes some of the very best players so good is how focused they are on what they need to do to get better and to be the best and find a way every day to get better.

“And when you are captain, you can't do that. You've got to actually compartmentalise what you're doing, look after your own game, look after all the guys around you. So, some guys can manage that better than others.

“Shaheen didn't set the world on fire as a leader either, so I think going back into a World Cup it just looks like a more settled team when you've got someone like Babar as captain rather than Afridi."

On the other hand, Ponting praised the young player, Saim Ayub, who played as an opener along with Mohammad Rizwan in the recent T20I series against Ireland. Ponting mentioned his name as the "real star in the making".

"I loved the look of Ayub out here during the Australian summer," Ponting noted.

"When I'm sitting there commentating, I like to know about players and what they can do, so I actually went back and had a look at some of his PSL stuff. And he's a proper player. I think he's a real star in the making," he said.