Follow Kohli's method to get back to form: Ponting to Babar

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has advised Pakistan batter Babar Azam to follow Virat Kohli’s method to rediscover his form.

Recently, Pakistan selectors rested Babar for the remainder of the three-match home series against England after the hosts lost the opening Test in Multan. Babar scored 30 and 5 in the match. In Babar’s absence, Pakistan won both Tests and the series 2-1.

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Now, Babar is in Australia with the Pakistan ODI side. He scored a 44-ball 37 in the first game which the home team won by two wickets in a close finish at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Monday (November 4).

The 30-year-old Babar has not scored a half-century in his last 18 Test innings.

Also read: Babar Azam resigns as Pakistan captain from limited-overs cricket

Ponting feels Babar should take a break from cricket to back to form, just as Kohli did.

“The biggest challenge is how they get Babar back into their side. They’ve got to find a way to get Babar back into form and back into their (Test) team. You know, when you look at (Babar’s) numbers, it's been a bit like the stuff that we were talking about with Virat (Kohli) earlier on,” Ponting said on the ICC Review show.

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“Sometimes – and I think Virat was on record saying this – that little bit of a break that he had, he took himself away from the game for a while to freshen up and sort out some things that he needed to sort out,” he added.

Further, Ponting said, “This might be exactly what Babar needs. Maybe Babar needs to get away for a while and stop trying too hard. Lock the kit bag away for a while, and think about something else, and then hopefully come back recharged, because we know at his best he's as good as anyone going around. Hopefully we get to see that in the back half of his career again.”

Incidentally, Kohli is also struggling to get runs in Tests. In the recently-concluded home series against New Zealand, he managed just 93 runs (70 of those came in one innings) in six innings.

With Kohli and captain Rohit Sharma both out of form, India were whitewashed 0-3 by the Kiwis. Now, the Indian team will travel to Australia to play five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting in Perth on November 22.