ISLAMABAD
\nICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting believes the cricket world has yet to see the best of Babar Azam, who claimed two ICC Awards for his efforts in 2022.
\nBabar took out both the major men\u2019s cricket award, the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, as well as the Men\u2019s ODI Cricketer of the Year in the 2022 ICC Awards, beating competitive fields in both categories.
\nSpeaking on The ICC Review, Ponting led the chorus of praise for Babar, citing the Pakistan skipper\u2019s textbook base and his ability to adjust in different conditions as keys to his success. Technically, he\u2019s very good, said Ponting.
\nHe plays spin bowling very well, he plays fast bowling really well, and he\u2019s been able to adapt to different conditions across the world – which is what separates the great players from the good players.
\nTo be able to be dominant in different conditions (to the ones) you\u2019re brought up in, I\u2019ve seen him first-hand be able to do that.
\nThe great players are also very strong mentally. You\u2019ve only got to look at when he plays, how long he bats for in Test matches, how he controls the innings in one-day games, how he\u2019s sort of got the ability to go up and down the gears as a batsman when the game and the situation needs him to.
\nSo how far can Babar go in the context of Pakistan greats? Ponting believes there\u2019s no reason why he can\u2019t be stood at the very top, even in a pantheon of such greats.
\nHe\u2019s on the upward curve now to maybe go down as the all-time greatest. I know there\u2019s Inzamam (ul-Haq) and Younis Khan and those sorts of guys who\u2019ve got more runs than him.
\nBy the time he\u2019s finished, his numbers I\u2019m sure will stack up along with the very best Pakistan has produced, which will be great for him, but also all the cricket fans around the world who enjoy watching him play.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting believes the cricket world has yet to see the best of Babar Azam, who claimed two ICC Awards for his efforts in 2022. Babar took out both the major men\u2019s cricket award, the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy, as well as the Men\u2019s ODI Cricketer of the Year in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-310214","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n