'Sky was the limit for Babar Azam'

Pakistan legend Waqar Younis recently said his former team had an excellent chance of claiming a second T20 World Cup title in Australia, but Australian legend Ricky Ponting isn't so sure.

Having seen and analysed the best players from around the world up close and personal he has now shared his views on the upcoming T20 World Cup with host Sanjana Ganesan on the latest episode of The ICC Review.

While Ponting acknowledges the class of star pacer Shaheen Afridi and the guile of Mohammad Rizwan at the top of the order, he said their batting line-up is too reliant on captain and No.1 ranked batter Babar Azam.

"If Babar doesn't have a great tournament, I don't think they can win," Ponting said.

"I saw him up close and personal a couple of years ago out here in a Test series against Australia and I said it then, I thought the sky was the limit for this guy as far as Test match batting (was concerned) and, if anything, he's probably got better and better in the last couple of years. 

"Their openers are very important and their new-ball bowlers are very important, but that role of the spin bowler in Australia might be a little bit more difficult with wickets that probably won't give them assistance."