In response to Babar Azam’s recent performance, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said that he needs to take a break from cricket for a time.

The selection panel decided to rest star batsman Babar, who had been in a run-scoring slump with a Test average of 20.7 since 2023, along with pacers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah after Pakistan suffered a crushing defeat in the first Test against England in Multan, their third straight Test loss at home this season.

Pakistan’s team management has reaffirmed that the decision to rest Babar from the Test series, which Pakistan ultimately won 2-1, was a calculated move amid a busy international schedule. Babar has now rejoined a new-look white-ball side captained by Mohammad Rizwan.

Babar has shown strong touch in the white-ball format and made an impressive 37 in the first ODI against Australia, but Ponting is still worried about his comeback to the Test team.

Restoring Babar’s form would be the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) greatest task, Ponting said on ICC Review.

“Getting Babar back on their side is the hardest obstacle. Ponting was reported by the ICC as stating, “They need to figure out how to get Babar back into form and back into their [test] team.”

Ponting continued by advising Babar to try Virat Kohli’s strategy in an effort to regain his form.

During India’s home series against England earlier this year, Kohli left the game for personal reasons. Following his comeback, he played a game-winning innings against South Africa in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final, which gave India its first ICC championship in eleven years.

After a losing run with the bat in 2022, Kohli had taken a similar hiatus from the game. He scored his first international century since 2019 after returning, and over the following 12 months, he put on incredible performances in all formats, including a game-winning knock against Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 and a spectacular run at home in the 2023 Men’s Cricket World Cup, where he set a record 765 runs and won Player of the Tournament.

The former cricket player recounted a moment during a break when Virat Kohli removed himself from the game.

“You know, looking at Babar’s numbers has reminded me a little bit of the things we discussed earlier with Virat [Kohli].”Occasionally, when he had a little break, he took some time off from the game to rest and take care of some personal matters, which I believe Virat has previously said,” he continued.

Ponting said that Babar could emulate Virat by taking a long sabbatical from the game and then making a strong return.

Perhaps this is just what Babar needs. Perhaps Babar should stop striving so hard and take a break. We know that at his best, he’s just as brilliant as anybody else, so put the kit bag away for a little, concentrate about something else, and then hopefully return refreshed. He went on, “Hopefully, we get to see that in the latter half of his career again.”