Ricky Ponting, the legendary Australia captain, shared his insights into the poor show with the bat by Pakistan’s ace batter Babar Azam in the Men in Green’s T20 World Cup 2026 opener against the Netherlands in Colombo on February 7, 2026.

The Netherlands had posted a fighting 147 after being asked to bat first at the SSC ground in Colombo. In response, the Pakistan batting faltered despite a good opening stand between Sahibzada Farhan (47) and Saim Ayub (24). Reduced to 114/7, Pakistan was rescued by Faheem Ashraf, who smashed 29* in 11 balls to take the Green Shirts to a narrow win by three wickets.

The spotlight after Pakistan’s narrow win fell on Babar Azam’s performance as the ace batter scored a labored 15 runs off 18 balls after coming into bat at no. 4.

Ricky Ponting analyzed Babar Azam’s poor batting show and said the most alarming part wasn’t the dot balls—it was what he felt was missing in the shots themselves.

“It just to me looks like he’s lost a bit of his power, his ball-striking ability, like taking on that spinner the way he did and not being able to even go close to clearing it,” Ponting said on the ICC Review show.

Ponting's statement makes it obvious that the dispute is about more than just intent or mindset. It is all about output: whether Babar is still striking the ball with the same authority that causes bowlers to push back, change lengths, and change fields early.

Ponting then immediately went on to the most important knock-on impact in T20s: pressure transfers rather than staying with the stuck batter.

“If you are 15 off 18 balls, you are not just putting pressure on yourself; you are putting pressure on the guy at the other end. 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,” Ponting added.

Ponting is not saying Babar is finished; he is saying Pakistan cannot carry a version of him who is looking for timing and power while the tournament clock is still ticking. He suggested that Babar Azam should be sent in at number three to facilitate boundary-hitting, specifically the powerplay.

“I defended him at the start of the tournament... a big-name player in a big event... experience, you need (those players) on your side if you are going to win. But Pakistan needs the best version of Babar Azam if they are going to go further in this tournament.

I would even think about batting him at No. 3. 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 favor. 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 concluded.

Pakistan will next face the USA in their second T20 World Cup 2026 match at the SSC Ground in Colombo on February 10.

(ICC inputs)