DUBAI: In a released video on the official website of the International Cricket Council (ICC), former ICC ODI World Cup-winning captain – Ricky Ponting heaped praises on the number one white-ball batter – Babar Azam, said the sky is the limit for him.

Ponting, in the released video, commented, that during Pakistan’s recent tour to Australia, the shots Babar played against Aussies’ strong bowling attack which includes – Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc – made him realize that the 27-years-old is a ‘real deal’.

“During Pakistan’s last tour to Australia, Babar played some lovely front foot drives and back foot punches to the offsides made me realize he is a real deal,” he said.

“This is something that most of the touring batters including England’s Joe Root have failed to do but, Babar made it look so easy. So yeah, I think the sky is the limit for him,” he added.

“He is like the Australian players, when I saw him bat in the second Test in Brisbane, he made batting look so easy in those conditions,” Ponting said.

The legendary captain also claimed that Babar could have been the top Test batter by now if he had played more matches.

“It’s only a matter of time when this guy [Babar] would be the top-ranked batter in Test cricket, and I think he is probably challenging for that position right now,” he added.

“Probably, if he had played some more matches in the last couple of years, he would be knocking the doors to be the top-ranked test batter,” he added.

Ponting then went on to comment on Babar’s recent success in the limited-overs format; including him winning the ICC ODI Player of the Year award, said he has been phenomenal in white-ball cricket for the last four to five years.

“Well, he has been exceptional in the T20 cricket for a couple of years now. He has been breathtakingly good in the white-ball cricket for the last four to five years,” he said.

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