BGT 2024-25: Should Australia drop Marnus Labuschagne from 2nd test? Ricky Ponting answers

Marnus Labuschagne recorded scores of 2 and 3 in the Perth test against India.

While Marnus Labuschagne is getting the backing of his captain and coach, the Australia No. 3 needs to soon put up a hefty score as pressure is mounting on his position.

Australia’s loss in Perth against India and Labuschagne’s twin failures has made his position in the side untenable, though coach Andrew McDonald maintained that “internally we’re really confident that, at his best, he’s the player that we need.”

Labuschagne registered two single-digit scores in the first BGT 2024-25 test. He was dismissed lbw in both innings, first by Siraj and then by Bumrah.

The 30-year-old who had once held the No. 1 ICC test batsman ranking is going through a rough patch. In 2024: he’s averaging only 24 across six tests this year and has registered only fifty in his last five tests.

You have to show faith in champion players: Ricky Ponting

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, too, has thrown his weight behind Labuschagne, backing the “champion” player. Ponting said he’d retain the same XI for the second test in Adelaide that featured in Perth and not drop Labuschagne.

Ponting said on The ICC Review, “I’d be sticking with the same side. I think you have to show faith in champion players and a lot of the guys that we’re talking about in this team have been champion players. Maybe not for a little while, but they have proven their ability on the big stage.”

However, the former skipper admitted that Labuschagne needs to turn around his form quickly.

“He’s really got to find a way to turn it around. Marnus looked the most tentative out of all the batters in Perth. Yes, it was high-quality bowling on a difficult wicket, but he needs to find a way to turn it around,” Ponting asserted.

The second test in Adelaide, which is a day-night contest, will start on December 6.

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