IND vs AUS: "You Have to Show Faith in Champion Players" - Ricky Ponting Backs Marnus Labuschagne to Come Good

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Former Australian captain and ICC hall of famer Ricky Ponting has backed out-of-form batter Marnus Labuschagne to come good ahead of the second Test in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Adelaide.

Labuschagne managed scores of 2 and 3 in the first Test against in Perth, as Australia crashed to a 295-run loss. It was the latest in a long line of lower scores for Labuschagne, who in fact made 2 off 52 balls in the first innings.

Having accumulated the third-most runs in the WTC 2021-23 cycle, the right-hand batter has managed just 658 runs in 13 Tests in the current cycle. He averages 13.66 across five Tests after his two half-centuries against Pakistan in early January this year.

Ponting said one needs to trust their "champion players" but asked Labuschagne to change his style of batting in order to come back to form in the remainder of the series against India.

"I think you have to show faith in champion players. A lot of the guys that we're talking about in this team have been champion players. Maybe albeit not for a little while. I think I read somewhere the other day that Marnus is averaging 13 since January (after the Pakistan series) in Tests. So he's got to find a way to turn it around," Ponting said in the latest ICC Review episode.

A former No. 1 ranked batter in Tests, Labuschagne has been pivotal to Australia's recent success after his debut in the Ashes in 2019, averaging 48.45 in 51 Tests. However, Ponting had concerns with his approach in the Perth Test.

"He was the one that looked most tentative to me out of all the batsmen in Perth. Yes, it was high-quality bowling. Yes, it was a difficult wicket to bat on. But when you're facing the best bowlers as a batsman, you have to take more risks," Ponting added.

Ponting urged the Australian batters, Labuschagne included, to focus on run-scoring rather than looking just to survive in the upcoming Tests, which could be crucial to keep their World Test Championship title defence alive.

"I think that's going to be a great challenge for Marnus and co. this week. It's probably just letting go a little bit. Think about scoring runs first and not think about getting out first. There's only one way to change it, and that is to be positive and show great intent," the former captain said.

Labuschagne and Co will hope to put on a better batting display when they turn up for the second Test, which is a day-night affair at the Adelaide Oval, scheduled to begin on Friday (December 6).