Ponting backs Babar Azam as captain, predicts bright future for Saim Ayub

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Australia's cricket legend Ricky Ponting believes Pakistan is more settled with Babar Azam as captain,

Babar was reinstated as Pakistan's white-ball captain after a brief period under Shaheen Afridi's leadership. Ponting feels Pakistan’s chances of improving on their runner-up finish in the 2022 T20 World Cup and replicating their 2009 title look better with Babar in charge.

“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.

“I reckon Babar, when he first started, I had that feeling that he... because if you look at his record, his numbers went down on the back of it. So I think he might have learned a bit from that.

“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.”

Ponting also pointed to a young talent, Saim Ayub, who opened alongside Mohammad Rizwan in the recent T20I series against Ireland. Ponting praised Ayub, calling him a "real star in the making" and noted his impressive performances in the PSL.

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

"He played that Test match in Sydney, I reckon it was and I didn't know much about him then.

"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."